Popular Culture Review Vol. 1, December 1989 | Page 27

Mrs. Calibans’:
Modern Beauties and Their Beasts

Many modem writers are re-shaping the Beauty and the Beast
myth and bringing it into today’s culture. This ancient story o f a
beautiful maiden in love with a repulsive but kindhearted stranger
has taken an interesting turn in twentieth century popular literature.
The twist on this old theme lies in the change in emphasis from the
demands of family and society on a naive young woman, to the re
examination o f a love relationship. No longer does the mystical and
monstrous Beast necessarily turn into a Prince when the innocent
Beauty professes her love to him. Today’s Beast remains primarily
in his alien form, bringing a unique quality to his union with the
beloved. In turn, modem heroines are more than satisfied with their
unusual partners.
The most well-known version of Beauty and the Beast came
into American folklore from a Madame Leprince de Beaumont who
wrote an educational work for children in which the story is found
(Pearce, Author’s Note). In this legend, the third and most beautiful
daughter of a wealthy merchant is forced to offer herself to a
magical Beast in exchange for her father’s life. She must live in the
Beast’s palace and become the creature’s “Queen,” with all the
pleasures and delights that any woman could possibly dream o f at
her command. In exchange, the Beast asks daily if Beauty loves
him, but, alas, she cannot love “One such as him” (Pearce).
Beauty is content to live in the palace with the Beast until she
learns that her father misses her. She asks the Beast to let her visit
her family. The Beast grants her request on the condition that she
return to him in three days. He insists that he will die if she is gone

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