Stockholm Syndrome in Beauty and the Beast
1101 K
11/26/13
Vulnerability and the Myth of Love: Stockholm Syndrome in Jeanne-Marie Leprince De Beaumont’s “Beauty and the Beast”
From the 1700’s to today, many fairy tales have grown, changed, and taken on different meanings. Children are most commonly told the Disney versions because they do not contain the violence, sexualization, or the objectifications that the original versions had. The versions that were originally told contained all three of those characteristics. In every fairy tale, whether it is the edited or the original versions, it is easy to find a common theme present in each. In “Beauty and the Beast,” the common theme is a girl falling in love with her captor or beginning to feel compassion towards him and then marrying him. This is commonly known as Stockholm syndrome. Stockholm syndrome is a psychological disorder or condition where a hostage or captive begins to show sympathy, compassion, or even just positive feelings towards their captor. They may even begin to defend them. “Beauty and the Beast,” written in 1757 by Jeanne-Marie LePrince De Beaumont, focuses on this theme as well. Although very similar to the version everybody is familiar with, this French version also comes with some differences. The theme in “Beauty and the Beast” centers on Stockholm syndrome by exploring the transformation that Beauty and the Beast experience through love, morals, the society, and emotions. Beauty’s transformation occurs partially due to her morals. The main thing that sticks out in her is her virtue. In Beaumont’s story, she says of the father, “He admitted the virtue of his daughter, above all her patience” (Beaumont 33). Beauty was loved by all, except for her jealous sisters, because not only was she beautiful, but also she showed true compassion and was genuinely kind to everyone around her. Her patience was shown by her willingness to help her father when the family had to move out of town. Beauty’s sisters gave her a hard time
11/26/13
Vulnerability and the Myth of Love: Stockholm Syndrome in Jeanne-Marie Leprince De Beaumont’s “Beauty and the Beast”
From the 1700’s to today, many fairy tales have grown, changed, and taken on different meanings. Children are most commonly told the Disney versions because they do not contain the violence, sexualization, or the objectifications that the original versions had. The versions that were originally told contained all three of those characteristics. In every fairy tale, whether it is the edited or the original versions, it is easy to find a common theme present in each. In “Beauty and the Beast,” the common theme is a girl falling in love with her captor or beginning to feel compassion towards him and then marrying him. This is commonly known as Stockholm syndrome. Stockholm syndrome is a psychological disorder or condition where a hostage or captive begins to show sympathy, compassion, or even just positive feelings towards their captor. They may even begin to defend them. “Beauty and the Beast,” written in 1757 by Jeanne-Marie LePrince De Beaumont, focuses on this theme as well. Although very similar to the version everybody is familiar with, this French version also comes with some differences. The theme in “Beauty and the Beast” centers on Stockholm syndrome by exploring the transformation that Beauty and the Beast experience through love, morals, the society, and emotions. Beauty’s transformation occurs partially due to her morals. The main thing that sticks out in her is her virtue. In Beaumont’s story, she says of the father, “He admitted the virtue of his daughter, above all her patience” (Beaumont 33). Beauty was loved by all, except for her jealous sisters, because not only was she beautiful, but also she showed true compassion and was genuinely kind to everyone around her. Her patience was shown by her willingness to help her father when the family had to move out of town. Beauty’s sisters gave her a hard time
Cited: “Beauty and the Beast.” The Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. Maria Tatar. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999. 33-34,38,41. Cummins, June. “Romancing the Plot: The Real Beast of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly 20.1 (1995): 22-28. Project MUSE. Web. 9 November 2013. Lynch, Richard. “Symbolic Narratives: The Dangers of Being an Intertextually Inclined Character.” Studies in the Novel 41.2 (2009): 224-240. Project MUSE. Web. 7 November 2013. Malarte-Feldman, Claire. “You’ve Come a Long Way, Beauty (and Beast).” Children’s Literature 20.1 (1992): 236-240. Project MUSE. Web. 13 November 2013. Zipes, Jack. “The Dark Side of Beauty and the Beast: The Origins of the Literary Fairy Tale for Children.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly 1981.1 (1981): 119-125. Project MUSE. Web. 26 January 2013. Zipes, Jack. “Towards a Social History of the Literary Fairy Tale for Children.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly 7.2 (1982): 23-26. Project MUSE. Web. 19 November 2013.