Beauty - A Deeper Look into Belle

Good morning…evening…afternoon, whenever you read this, and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Once again I apologize for this being such a late post. My planning skills failed me and I worked late on Friday and an early shift today. Because of my work hours, I didn't have enough time to finish this week's entry until later today. But enough of the past, let’s get on to the present shall we?

As my readers know, I love books. If anyone trapped me in the Pandorica or on an island and filled it with books, I’d be content until I felt like escaping.

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What? It's opening? Forget that, I'm still on Act II of Hamlet.

While I have read tons of books, it’s always hard for me to select my favorite one. Asking me to decide what my favorite book is, is like trying to choose between puppies or kittens: it’s just not possible.  However, I often find that thousands of book titles emerge in my head, and battle for the title of being my favorite book. Macbeth tries to murder the competition while Shibumi fights with The Coachman Rat. It’s a giant literary mess that my mind goes through every time that question is proposed. Yet through the quarrels one book always seems to emerge unscathed. This surviving book is none other than Robin McKinley’s Beauty. 

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Not only was this McKinley’s first retelling but it was her debut book. Published in 1993, Beauty is a re-imagining of Beauty and the Beast but with some changes. For starters, the story is told by our Belle character, Beauty. However, it doesn't begin with her singing about her hometown or entering the Beast's palace. Instead it starts with her telling the audience about her childhood and growing up to be a scholarly plain Jane. From her narration we also receive details about her family, especially her siblings, Grace and Hope as well as Beauty herself.  

Another change in Beauty is that the readers never receive a fleshed out description of the Beast character. I enjoyed this greatly because it allows the imagination to do some creating. We can personalize this Beast to how we please as the story goes on. The details of the palace and the vague images of the Beast help us to understand what type of person he is.

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I don't know about you guys, but the Beast comes off as Jack Skellington to me. Tall, immortal, intelligent. Come on, what Beauty doesn't love that?

Since this was McKinley’s first book, there are a few flaws. One issue is that Grace and Hope sometimes feel like the same person. They are easily interchangeable but become more defined with the challenges they face. The second flaw I find is the ending. While I won’t spoil it for you, I will say that it feels very rushed when compared to the rest of the book. Beauty is drawn out, pinpointing each detail about everything, fleshing out the characters, and creating magnificent imagery. When it comes to the end, it’s only in two to three pages where everything major happens.  I feel as though that the events that happen at the end should have been given the same, slow churned experience.

But what I enjoy the most about Beauty is that it has a lesson that can be taught throughout the years. It teaches readers to accept yourself and be yourself, even when you undergo change. This change could be for the better or the worse but in the end, you will still be you. There can only be one you in this universe; no one else can replicate you because they do not have the same qualities that only you have. You must accept yourself and be yourself to your full extent.

Growing up, Beauty accepts herself as the less attractive member of the family who constantly reads. She is thirsty for knowledge and absorbs it like a sponge takes in water. At the palace, she begins to change, and deny mental aspects of herself she discovers with the aid of the Beast. As she sees more of herself, she still remains the same clever, intelligent, and logical woman.

I give this book five out of five stars because of its lesson, its attention to detail and depth, and its ability to stay true to the original story of Beauty and the Beast while giving it a new light. Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite fairy tale and this book does an excellent job of retelling it.