Social Problems in The Beauty and The Beast

Angela Carter ’s story 'The Courtship of Mr. Lyon' is the legendary tale of The Beauty and The Beast, originally written in 1790. Carter’s twist of the story has an overall impactful message that reinforces the liberation of women. This eerie love story has an agenda to address common ideologies that for centuries habitually ordered women to conform to a patriarchal society and unequal gender expectations. Carter develops the female protagonist Beauty and transforms her from a dependent daughter feeling trapped to later then blossoming into a self-ruling woman.

Throughout this story you can sense the personal growth within Beauty, her confidence builds and she becomes strong enough to leave her father in order to pursue her desires to touch the Beast. This story has several similarities to James Joyce’s Eveline story, as that story is written by a male author, Eveline could not gain enough confidence to pursue her lover and future happiness in Argentina. This paper seeks to analyze the connection between women’s liberation as Beauty goes against the grain from the traditional misogynistic worldview.

A critical event in this story is when Beauty’s father trades her as a payment for his debt in exchange for taking the white rose.

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Feminist would claim that Carter’s story and later inspired children’s Disney movie begins from an unruly misogynistic setting for women. ''Take her the rose then but bring her to dinner,' he growled' said the Beast. An agreement is made and this implies that Mr.

Lamb owns his daughter since Beauty is oblivious to the situation. Her father refers to his daughter using the terms “his beauty, his girl-child, his pet” and this can express his anti-female attitude and authority over his daughter. Repetition of the pronoun his boldly spotlights the possession he feels over his daughter. However, this agreement would forever change the development of their father‐daughter relationship as her sexual identity is stimulated by her encounter with the Beast. Carter boldly addresses this subject since many women in the 1970s were battling similar issues, feeling like subjects and objects to their male providers.

Carter’s title hints honor to pro-female empowerment as Mr. Lyon is the one being courted. Another primary theme of this story is isolation, as Beauty and the Beast both live in isolation. The Beast lives in a large dark mansion completely in solitary and with no signs of civilization. The story begins with Beauty looking outside her kitchen window, she “pauses in her chores in the mean kitchen”, Beauty is waiting for her father indeed like a loyal pet. During the creation of this story, the 1970s was known for intense and passionate feminist advocating for the liberation of women. According to a CNN article, women revolted and rejected from being “round-the-clock child caretakers, chefs, maids, and sex objects to all benefit their husband.” This message resonates with many women as we struggle to embrace our femininity while not allowing stereotypes to confine our potential and our roles within society.

Beauty was inexperienced and innocent but driven by her animal impulses to go after the Beast. Her beauty and purity are compared to “the road /white and unmarked as a spilled bolt of bridal satin”. This story has a “happily ever after”, for Beauty and the newly-named Mr. Lyon after completing their “courtship” respectfully. The Beauty and the Beast shared a romantic dinner together and became transfixed by one another. In Joyce’s story, Eveline’s courtship to Frank did not end with a “happily ever after” because of the lack in women equality influenced her to feel stuck and obey to her role as a dutiful daughter. Carter’s female lead was able to transform from being passive to active, which is the key differentiator of both of their outcomes.

The Beast is mentioned to be angry and “blazed with furious light” with the roar of a “pride of lions” and lions are the “king of beasts”. Carter uses these references to symbolize his masculine power and ferocity. This also suggests that London is a city of male corruption, contrasted with the more feminine, natural, and delicate landscape of her countryside residence. Biblical references are made using her surname, Miss. Lamb, which historically represents sacrificial offerings. Beauty begins to diminish her innocence as she is described as becoming vain “she smiled at herself in mirrors a little too often, these days”. Beauty was evidently affected by the masculine energy from the Beast, as begins to act upon her desires to touch the Beast and even embraces some of her masculine sides. “All he is doing is kissing my hands”, Beauty’s awakens with affection, love, and a sense of relief.

As the plot unfolds Beauty becomes homogeneous to the Beast and transgressive to her feminine ways, the drift of fallen petals represents the fragility of the remaining innocence. Beauty’s father attempts to win his daughter by pampering her with operas and an entirely new wardrobe to preserve her purity. However, despite her father’s newfound wealth she is unhappy and feels empty. The description of the mean kitchen at the start of the story depicts her domestic role when living with her father. Beauty hears the news that the Beast is sick and she journeys to comfort him, as she learns for the first time that he is human. “Tears fell on his face like snow”, the snow represents innocence and is transgressed from Beauty’s feminine traits, this collision of their gender roles creates a delightful balance.

I’ve watched the Disney Version of the Beauty and the Beast and after reading Carter’s interpretation, I now have an advanced opinion of the topic. This story concludes with Mr. and Mrs. Lyon walking in the garden, hinting at a marriage. In conclusion, Beauty is rewarded with a “happy ending” for going after what she truly desires, even if it was breaking conventional norms. Carter’s great contribution to the feminist society twists the notorious love story with an underlying women liberation victory and it’s truly a great story to positively influence any reader!