Beauty And The Beast: Compare And Contrast

Have you ever told a story to one person then when the story got back to you it was different? That is what happens to myths over time and as they pass through various cultures around the world. As a child we hear many fairy tales and no matter where you live they have the same message. They may have different characters or setting but they portray the same message overall. There will be comparisons made between different versions of Beauty and the Beast showing the cultural differences that lie within the tale, the versions will include that of the European and Asian cultures as well as the original tale itself and a Greek/Roman myth. First up is the original telling of “Beauty and the Beast”. In order to compare the different versions we have to first know the original. The original version was written by Jean-Marie LePrince de Beaumont. It was published in 1756 and now various variations are known across Europe. In this tale Belle, or beauty in French, is the most beautiful and youngest of her three sisters. Her father who is a merchant got them daily gifts and one day while doing so runs into a beast. The beast requests that he give one of his daughters as his wife. Belle goes to save her father from the tower. She starts to
This tale is titled “The Bear Prince”. In this particular version, the older sisters wanted once again materialistic items. Beauty on the other hand wanted a grape. The Swiss like to enjoy a nice glass of wine therefor making the grape an important part of their culture (Countries Quest). Today the production of grapes and other fruits makes up about 11% of the Swiss agriculture output (Countries Quest). Only 4% of Switzerland’s exported goods come from agriculture and forestry products (About.ch.com). Due to their geographical placement and their climate agriculture doesn’t make up a big part of their revenue. They don’t grow many crops there and their climate plays a huge role in