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 get homesick so the beast lets her go home but says she has to come back by a certain date. Her sisters are jealous when they hear of her life so they try to make her late. She returns back to the beast and accepts his proposal of marriage causing him to turn into a beautiful prince (Beaumont). In the French culture romance and passion is embodied (Zimmerman). “Vivre sans aimer n’est pas proprement vivre. ” or “To live without loving is to not really live” (Moliere) and “Il n’y a qu’un bonheur dans la vie, c’est ‘aimer et d’etre aime” or “There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved” (Sand) are two French quotes on love.
Both quotes show their views and opinions on love. They find love to be a necessity, something you need in life to be happy. Since the first version of this tale comes from the French culture it would make sense that it is a love story. As a culture they embody love and romance (Zimmerman). This tale really shows their fondness of love. It shows that everyone deserves love and that no one should be judged by their exterior but by their interior. It also shows their views on equality.
They believed that everyone is equal. Belle falling in love with the beast highlights that idea. Belle believes that the beast deserves love just as anything or anybody else. Belle wants a rose unlike her sisters. Roses have a lot of different meanings that vary depending on their color but in general they represent love, appreciation, gratitude, and passion (ProFlowers Blog). Belle wanting a rose is just extra emphasis on the respect and appreciation for love in the French culture. Today we still use roses as tokens of love and appreciation so it is a concept that we still execute today.
Though the Chinese version relays the same message, there are some cultural differences between the original tale and this differed version. This tale is titled, “The Fairy Serpent”. In this tale Beauty and her sisters receive wild cherry blossoms as their gifts. In China wild cherry blossoms represent femininity, beauty, love and power (Simon). Rather than showering them with materialistic gifts as in the original tale they went with a more meaningful gift. The giving of the wild cherry blossoms shows the love the father has for his daughters. In the original tale, Belle wants a rose, in this tale Beauty wants a wild cherry blossom.
Beauty wants a flower in each of these tales and the flower she wants has a special meaning to that particular culture. Instead of a “Beast” the Chinese culture went with a snake. In mythology as a whole snakes can represent both the good and the bad. In the Chinese culture snakes are seen as evil and malevolent (Liu). The phrase * EIU (fo kou she xin, having the mouth of the Buddha, but the heart of a snake) means to disguise ill intent with pretty words (Liu). In this tale the snake isn’t necessarily evil but he goes about things the wrong way.
He simply wants to return to his human form and uses Beauty to achieve that goal just as the “beast” in the other versions. In the Chinese culture snakes are celebrated despite their evil archetype because they are seen as the less accomplished brother of the dragon; Dragons are very important in the chinese culture. Using a snake is another way to set this tale apart from the other versions and to make it unique to the Chinese and their cultural beliefs and values. Next up is the version created in Switzerland. 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 that.
Switzerland doesn’t have an official flower which may also be why beauty requested a grape and not a flower. Out of the few crops that they do grow in Switzerland, grapes are definitely the most important in their culture. Since grapes play a huge role in their culture it makes sense that Beauty in their version of the tale would want a grape. They also went with a bear instead of a beast or snake to add another differentiation from other versions (Carol). Since the grape is important to their particular culture, they used that as the gift Beauty wants. Unlike the other two versions, the father was lead to the “beast” in this specific tale.
He was lead to vineyard by a dwarf (Carol). This is different from other versions because usually the father finds the designated gifts on his own. The dwarf definitely couldn’t be trying to help the father. Why exactly a dwarf lead the father to the vineyard isn’t known. It is most likely to spice up the story and make it different from other variations already heard around the world. The comparison was made between different versions of Beauty and the Beast including that of the European and Asian cultures as well as the original tale itself and a Greek/Roman myth.
Though all the details aren’t exactly the same, all of the versions have the same themes. Setting and character choice aren’t what is the main point in the myth. It is the lessons and morals you should pick up on while you read all the various versions of the myth known throughout the world. One of the themes being that inner beauty is more important than outer beauty. Someone can be extremely beautiful on the outside but hideous on the inside. Personality is meant to keep you in their heart, while looks are meant to captivate you. The next theme is look beyond what you can see.
Just because something may seem terrible doesn’t mean it is. Never judge a book by its cover. Take the time to get to know people and actually experience things before ruling them out. Things that you may think you hate could end up being the things that you enjoy the most. The last theme is that your happily ever after may not look like someone else’s which is perfectly fine. Everyone is different and different things will make them happy. It doesn’t really matter what makes you feel whole as long as you are more than content. After all that is why it is called YOUR happily ever after.
