La Belle et la Bête

by Mercer Mayer

As a child, I was read Marianna Mayer's beautiful telling of the Beauty and the Beast story. Her husband, Mercer Mayer, illustrated the book with gorgeous paintings that greatly influenced the way I imagined the story in my mind ever-after.

by Mercer Mayer

As an adolescent, I watched the 1946 Jean Cocteau film version of this French tale, encountering a new set of visual vocabulary with which to understand and imagine it. In the film, the dark corners of Beast's enchanted castle throw black shadows across the pale youthful face of Beauty, engaging simultaneously the magical-myterious and the realistic-dangerous elements of coming-of-age. At 14 years-old, I felt deeply the struggle between acting upon instinct and acting out of obedience; the benefits and pitfalls of acting solely out of either instinct or obedience are exemplified by the main characters. 

I also watched Beauty attempt to establish a safe barrier between herself and her companion--a friend with whom she lived and who daily provoked the idea of marriage and thus physical union. As the Beast's voice grew more gentle to Beauty's ear, she found it increasingly more difficult to refuse experimenting with his touch and exploring the reaches of her love for him. Here is the scene from the film I think best attests to these feelings: 

I love how here we see Beast's ears and eyes become riveted instinctually upon a helpless doe, in the middle of conversation with Beauty. Although Beast struggles to tame his animal impulses and appear to Beauty as a "civilized" and gentle creature, he unwittingly reveals the continued influence of the impulses of a predator. Beauty, then, goes to the fountain and invites him to drink water from her hands, reestablishing his domesticity and allowing herself to feel the touch of his lips, even if only on her hands.

Yesterday, my husband and I came across the trailer for a brand new film version of the story. The costumes look fabulous, and the highly evolved CGI technology promises to bring to life a particularly interesting Beast...

The film is scheduled to debut on February 12, 2014 in France. Although I'm not sure when it is set to arrive in American cinemas, I look forward to seeing this latest iteration of the beautiful 18th century tale.

For more information on the history of Beauty and the Beast and its many literary renderings, please see Terri Windling's engaging article on the subject.

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What are your favorite tales? What are the tales that have stayed with you through the years?

Until next time- keep rustling!
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UPDATE: Just found a great post over at Once Upon a Blog on this film! She has some really nice screen grabs of the trailer as well as the video of the film's theme song. Check it out!