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Bryan Krum

Professor Davis

English 1

9/26/17

Beauty and the Beast

Fairy tales are created to entertain our kids and teach them life lessons. Fairy tales have

been passed down from generation from generation since the beginning of time. Fairy tales

normally have a prince who ventures on a quest to learn a lesson about life, or he sets out into

the world on a quest to find love. Normally the prince finds his love to be a princess. The main

goal of fairy tales is to show our kids how to act and how to live their lives. We can see this

demonstrated very clearly in Beauty and the Beast. The fairy tale Beauty and the Beast

teaches our kids the different roles of masculinity and femininity.

To start it off, Beauty and the Beast teaches our boys that as they grow up they will

have to be fearless and courageous. We see this when the merchants boys offer to give their

lives to defend their sister. They do this by saying, You will not die. We shall go and find this

monster and will perish under his blows if we cannot kill him(De Beaumont 249). As a child

when you watch a movie or hear a story you automatically become attached with the hero in the

story. When the children offered their lives for their families our young boys are taught to do the

same for their own families.This teaches our young boys how they should act when they grow

up and become men.They should be courageous and fight to defend their family, even if death

is certain. Another thing we teach our boys about their roles in life as men is that they will have

to make sacrifices for the well being of their family and loved ones.

Secondly, Beauty and the Beast teaches our kids that men are supposed to grow up

and become beasts. In Beauty and the Beast none of the princes, merchants or anyone else
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for that matter could win Beauty's heart. No one but the beast that is. Beauty and the Beast

teaches our children that boys should grow up and become beasts. The story does this by

saying, No child in my experience preferred the sparkling colored human who emerged from

the enchanted monster (Warner 271). Many boys wants to grow up and marry the princess just

like in the fairy tales. They grow up their whole lives knowing that in the fairy tales the beast gets

the princess. As a result our boys grow up striving to become a beast in order to get their

princess.Another thing we teach our boys about their roles in life as men is that they will have to

make sacrifices for the well being of their family and loved ones.

Thirdly, Beauty and the Beast teaches our young boys that sometimes they will have to

make sacrifices for their family and loved ones. Our young boys will eventually become the

leader of their families, but before they can be the head of their family they have to learn from

their fathers. They also can learn how to be good fathers through stories in this case Beauty

and The Beast teaches them valuable roles of a father. The fairy tale also shows our children a

very important role as a father when it says, I will not expose her to certain death. I am old and

have not long to live. I shall lose but few years (De Beaumont 249). This shows our young boys

that once they become fathers one of the most important roles of a father is to make sacrifices

for their families. No matter how steep the price is. Beauty and the Beast continues to show

our young boys what their roles will look like as they grow older. However, Beauty and the

Beast also shows our little girls how they should grow up and become young women.

To start it off, Beauty and the Beast teaches our little girls that in order to please those

around her she should be grateful for everything she has. In Beauty and the Beast her sisters

always demanded that her father buy them lavish gifts. However Beauty only asks for his love.

Beauty and the Beast clearly notes this after the merchant lost his wealth. The merchant

says,you have asked for nothing, said her father. you are so kind to think of me, she replied,
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you might bring me a rose for the, for there are none here. (De Beaumont 247). Despite her

sisters asking for fur coats and other luxuries Beauty is contient with her father's love and only

asks for a rose. This teaches our kids that they should not be greedy, in fact it teaches them to

desire pure love over materialistic goals. Beauty and the Beast continuously drives home this

point. Throughout the entire story beauty only asks for what her father can afford.Eventually she

is rewarded with a happy marriage, and a long fruitful life. However Beauty and the Beast

teaches our young girls much more than gratification, The fairy tale also teaches them that they

are supposed to make sacrifices for their families.

Secondly, Beauty and the Beast teaches our young girls that they will have to make

sacrifices for their family, especially for the men in her life. During this time period women were

not allowed to vote, attend college, or hold any position of high authority. Thus most women

were treated like property, they were either married off, or stayed with their families for their

entire life. Beauty and the Beast shows us how this is possible when it says, However you

have told me that you have daughters. I will forgive you on the condition that one of them comes

to die in your place (De Beaumont 248). When the Beast says this he implies that the merchant

can trade his daughter's life with the Beast, implying that women are very similar to property.

Our young girls watching, or hearing the story learn that in order to be a good daughter they

must sacrifice themselves for their fathers, no matter what is at stake. Beauty and the Beast

shows our children that they are to be loyal to their family, but it also teaches our women to

dissolve their family ties before marriage.

To top it all off, Beauty and the Beast teaches our daughters that they must choose

between love for their father or partner. In the fairy tale Beauty leaves the beast to comfort her

lonely father. By doing this she is indirectly kills the beast. Beauty is then stuck between a rock

and a hard place she must choose between her father or the beast. The dilemma is resolved
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when the story says,Thrown into a conflict between her love for her father and the beasts

needs beauty deserts the beast to attend to her father. But then she realizes how much she

loves the beast- a symbol of loosening ties to her father(Bettelheim 258). As Beauty returns to

her father she realizes that she loves the beast and has no reason not too. She has to dissolve

her ties with her father in order to fully love the beast. Beauty and the Beast teaches our young

girls that when they find their love of their life, they should return home and dissolve all of their

longlasting ties with the family in order to have a fruitful marriage In conclusion, The fairy tale,

Beauty and the Beast teaches our kids the different roles of masculinity and femininity.

Beauty and the Beast teaches our young children a great deal about life, but it clearly

shows them their roles as men and women in the world. Men are supposed to be fearless and

become Good fathers by acquiring wealth and making sacrifices for the family. A woman's role

is to either grow up and get married or stay home and take care of their fathers, it also shows

them how to act as a wife as well as how to treat men. Beauty and the Beast taught many

children their roles as men and women in society and as a family.

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Works Cited

De Beaumont, Madame Beauty and the Beast (1756) Reading Our Histories,
Understanding Our Cultures Ed Kathleen McCormick 6th ed. New York,
Longman

Bettelheim, Bruno Resolution and Restoration in Beauty and the Beast (1975)
Reading Our Histories, Understanding Our Cultures Ed Kathleen McCormick 6th
ed. New York,Longman

Warner, Marina Go! Be a Beast (1994) Reading Our Histories, Understanding Our
Cultures Ed Kathleen McCormick 6th
ed. New York,Longman