Beauty and the Beast has a very notable birth and history. It began in 1740 by a woman named Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve. She was a French writer who was influenced and inspired by the fairy tales written by such authors as Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy and Charles Perrault. Beauty and the Beast originally did not start out as folklore, although it contains folkloric elements throughout the tale. Villeneuve’s story, however, grew from definitive folkloric roots that were derived from mythology and countless fictions that preceded it.
Villeneuve’s work was more of a short novel than a simple tale as it included elaborate text and incredible detail, that often told stories within stories. Villeneuve’s narrative does not end when the Beast transforms into a man, for the Beasts mother is introduced and we as the audience learn about his life before being cursed. Villeneuve also sheds light into Beauty’s hidden history, for she is not the true daughter of a merchant, rather a princess in disguise herself. Villeneuve does a fantastic job of including this information in an elaborate literary creation. Villeneuve writes about love and marriage but also explores themes such as a women’s marital rights.
Villeneuve’s story did not remain completely her own, for in 1757 it provided the foundation for another writer, Madame Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. Comparisons between the two stories include Villeneuve’s story’s audience is primarily targeted at adults, whereas, Beaumont’s audience is for children. Beaumont’s story has a moral message included about good manners and behaviours as well as including physical beauty. Beaumont greatly shortened and rewrote the tale by Villeneuve, and provided a version that is so well recognised today, however, it would not have existed without Villeneuve’s original work. Over time, Beauty and the Beast continue to be shared and retold to each generation. New picture books, novels and films continue to be produced and shared on a regular basic. These new adaptations explore the tale while occasionally finding new meanings and still challenging the old ones. As time progresses however, the adaptations still remain honest and do justice to the original and much loved tale and this is evident in the examples provided further on in the webpage.
Villeneuve’s work was more of a short novel than a simple tale as it included elaborate text and incredible detail, that often told stories within stories. Villeneuve’s narrative does not end when the Beast transforms into a man, for the Beasts mother is introduced and we as the audience learn about his life before being cursed. Villeneuve also sheds light into Beauty’s hidden history, for she is not the true daughter of a merchant, rather a princess in disguise herself. Villeneuve does a fantastic job of including this information in an elaborate literary creation. Villeneuve writes about love and marriage but also explores themes such as a women’s marital rights.
Villeneuve’s story did not remain completely her own, for in 1757 it provided the foundation for another writer, Madame Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. Comparisons between the two stories include Villeneuve’s story’s audience is primarily targeted at adults, whereas, Beaumont’s audience is for children. Beaumont’s story has a moral message included about good manners and behaviours as well as including physical beauty. Beaumont greatly shortened and rewrote the tale by Villeneuve, and provided a version that is so well recognised today, however, it would not have existed without Villeneuve’s original work. Over time, Beauty and the Beast continue to be shared and retold to each generation. New picture books, novels and films continue to be produced and shared on a regular basic. These new adaptations explore the tale while occasionally finding new meanings and still challenging the old ones. As time progresses however, the adaptations still remain honest and do justice to the original and much loved tale and this is evident in the examples provided further on in the webpage.