“Beauty and the Beast” is a classic fairy tale about sacrifice, kindness, and how appearances can be deceiving, retold by Clifton Johnson. To atone for picking one of the beast's roses, a man must let his daughter live with the beast, to keep him company. Beauty (the daughter) is treated as a queen would be, and she finds the beast quite good company, despite his rough exterior. The beast seems to have a secret, something to do with why he looks like this...
There are many incidents that show sacrifice in this tale. One example of this is of the relationship between the merchant and his children. “He loved his children more than he loved his riches and was always trying to make them happy.” The man loves his children over his riches, and does anything he can to make them happy. Of course, this makes them seem like spoiled brats, which the two older daughters are. Another incident is when the poor man lost his wealth in a bout of misfortune, and in the end had to break the news to his children: “To that little farm we must all go, now, and earn our daily living with our hands.” All the merchant had left was a little farm out in the country, where they were to work as peasants. They did sacrifice their fancy way of life, though obviously not willingly. Then, the last incident, where the beast allows Beauty to go home to nurse her sick father: “I cannot refuse anything you ask,” said he. “I will have a swift horse ready for you at sunrise tomorrow.” Though this may not seem like much of a sacrifice, you have to keep in mind that the beast is a lonely person, and would quite literally die of loneliness if Beauty left for too long.
Appearances can be deceiving, and things are not all that they appear. This, of course, happens quite often in fairy tales, to teach the readers moral values. Come to think of it, today's world is quite like this in itself…First example: “No sooner had he done this than a great beast came…forth from a side path where he had been hidden by a high hedge and stood before the merchant. "This place is mine," said the beast in his deep, gruff voice. "Why do you pick my flowers?"” The merchant has picked a rose from one of the bushes, to try and honor Beauty's request (when he left for town to try to regain some wealth, he barely received any more money; certainly not enough to buy the gifts he had promised to his daughters.) It is surprising that such a seemingly empty palace still housed a beast, and that he did not show himself until now. “Their friends, who were numerous when the family was rich, now kept away and said one to the other, "We are sorry for the merchant and his family, of course. However, we have cares of our own, and we couldn't be expected to help them; and, really, if those two older girls are having their pride humbled it is no more than they deserve. Let them go milk the cows and mind their dairy and see how they like it.'” The two older daughters had refused to go to the small farm in the country, and sought housing with their friends, but their “friends” now turn them away. “At once a change came over the beast, and on the grass beside the fountain lay a handsome prince.” (Note: “lay” is incorrect grammar, but this is an excerpt from the story.)
This is the part, of course, where a handsome prince appears, and he and the girl are married and ride off into the sunset to their new castle. This is quite a classic fairy tale ending. The beast turned out to be a handsome prince when a spell is broken, thus reversing all effects on said prince and his castle, property, etc.
The characters that I find in this story are quite polite, more so than I can find in schools these days. It is actually quite moving how kindness in this story can affect the outcome. If only the world was more like this… “On awakening the following morning he [the merchant] was surprised to find a new suit of clothes laid out for him on a chair by the bedside, marked with his name, and with ten gold pieces in every pocket.” You must be joking if you think this would happen in today's world. Consider it: the man comes in uninvited during a storm, uses the stable for his horse, helps himself to food and shelter, and he is accepted just like that, and even got
paid
for it!!! Of course, there are still those nice people in reality world, but there just aren't enough of those people to make a difference. “He went to the stable for his horse. It was all ready for him to mount, and to his surprise the saddlebags were full of gold.” The merchant, who probably deserves the money anyway, received this as a gift from the beast, probably as some form of compensation for the loss of his daughter. It's just not the same as Beauty, but it does help, just a little. “Your wishes and commands shall be obeyed. You are here the queen over everything.” This note was found in one of the books in the room labeled “Beauty's Room”. Beauty, at least, will be comfortable in her new home, just separated from her beloved family. The beast, apparently, wants to make a good impression on her.
Not surprisingly, this idea is rather hard to apply to real life. The original story and/or plot probably dated back to, well…just a long time ago, when people were much kinder. The purpose, as it is with all fairy tales, is to teach people moral values, mainly targeted at young children. This particular story teaches about kindness, and how looks can be deceiving. Perhaps this derives from the saying, “Don't judge a book by its cover”, or perhaps the other way around. It's too bad people don't really believe in this way of living...
