The Beautiful Beastly World of Fairy Tales

Lyricist Howard Ashman eloquently describes Beauty and the Beast as the “tale as old as time” and the “song as old as rhyme.” The origin of this story dates back as far as Greek narratives regaling a woman’s love affair with a snake-prince. With time, the snake evolves into the English variant of a small-toothed dog and later progresses to the version contemporary readers most often recognize.  The modern-day version of Beauty and the Beast begins in France with author Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve’s portrayal of a young prince’s post-romance transformation.  La Belle et La Bête, though shortened over time, juxtaposes the universal theme of romantic love with mid-eighteenth century marital rights of women. Marie Leprince de Beaumont later simplifies the text in her version, Le Magasin des Enfants, and gives life to the adaptation today’s readers most notably identify. Throughout the world and across the ages, the tale’s variations provide insight into historically relevant values and issues.

The Small-Tooth Dog is an English fairytale presented in a collection by Sidney Oldall Addy in 1895. The story introduces a dog that saves a man from thieves attacking him. The man offers many valuable tokens of appreciation; however, the dog desires possession of the man’s daughter. The man honors his promise and grants ownership of his daughter to the small-tooth dog. Despite the dog’s best efforts, the girl remains sad and withholds her affection.

Figure 1: The Small Toothed Dog (Source: Kyngdok, 2011)

Figure 1 is an artist’s interpretation of the dog carrying the girl to and from her father’s house on his back. Only after she recognizes his goodness and patience does the dog transform into, “the handsomest young man in the world, with the finest and smallest teeth you ever saw” (Addy 4). The idea that aesthetic appeal follows acceptance appears in many fairytales. G.K. Chesterton comments on the great lesson of Beauty and the Beast – which is also present in The Small-Tooth Dog – “a thing must be loved before it is loveable…” (Bettelheim 64). This version of the tale represents a factor present when fathers arrange the marriages of their daughters; the daughters’ abhorrence of the marital arrangement renders her groom a beast. It is only after her love grows that his appearance softens.

The Singing, Springing Lark is a German fairytale written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in 1857. Like the previous version, this tale begins with a group of sisters who request gifts from their father. The youngest daughter, her father’s favorite, asks for a lark. The father’s attempt to retrieve the lark awakens a lion that agrees to spare the father’s life in exchange for whatever greets him upon his return home. The youngest daughter greets her father, and insisting that he keep his word, returns to the lion. The lion, an enchanted prince, spends his day in beast form and a night transforms into a handsome man. He marries the daughter, and together they share a beautiful life.  

                 Figure 2: The Singing Springing Lark (Source: Arthur Rackham, 1909)

Figure 2 illustrates the side-by-side companionship of the girl and her lion. One fateful day, the lion accompanies his bride to the wedding of her sister where, “a ray of light no wider than a hair,” touches him and transforms him into a dove. Refusing to give up on their love, the young girl waits seven years and conquers many obstacles to save her prince from his animalistic form. The Uses of Enchantment explains the daughter’s insistence upon

                                                                              

protecting her father in terms of an oedipal desire. The text states, “a child’s oedipal attachment to a parent is natural, desirable, and has the most positive consequences for all, if during the process of maturation it is transferred and transformed as it becomes detached from the parent and concentrated on the lover” (Bettelheim 307).

The Singing, Springing Lark explores the journey that a young girl takes as she shifts the object of her affection from her father to her husband. Unlike the girl in The Small-Tooth Dog, the daughter willingly returns to the lion and courageously accepts her fate. She does not develop affection for her captor overtime; the daughter’s alacrity to save her father’s life shows in the immediate marriage of the girl and the beast. Bettelheim presents the argument that converting the oedipal love for her father into love for her companion “[offers] a belated fulfillment of [the girl’s] childish love for her father, while at the same time it presents fulfillment of her mature love for an age-correct partner” (284). The daughter’s original motives revolve around saving her father; however, her love for the beast grows and his life becomes more relevant.

Beauty and the Horse is a Danish fairytale published in a collection by J. Christian Bay in 1899. This version of the tale, much like the others, begins with a father whose daughters differ in beauty and disposition. Beauty, the fairest of the three girls, is genuine and wants nothing from her father’s journey. The father, experiencing a fierce beating, seeks shelter in what appears to be an abandoned castle. Before journeying home, the father tries to retrieve beautiful flowers for his daughter. Immediately, a horse appears and scolds the man for being thoughtless. The horse agrees to spare the man’s life in exchange for his daughter, Beauty. Hearing of her father’s fate, Beauty gladly agrees to the horse’s terms. Though the horse kindly provides for Beauty and meets her every need, she feels alone. Bettelheim justifies Beauty’s longing for the horse’s presence by explaining that “such a life, far from being satisfying, soon becomes empty and boring” (307). The horse eventually grants Beauty permission to return to her ailing father. Despite agreeing to return after three days, Beauty remains with her father. She soon discovers that the horse’s health is failing, so she returns to him swearing never to leave. Beauty’s allegiance to the horse results in the breaking of his enchanted step-mother’s spell and returns him to his human form.

Like the daughter in the other versions of the tale, Beauty must love her beast in order for him to be loveable. She must transfer her child-like love for her father and develop an adult sexual love for her beast. The contemporary Disney rendering of Beauty and the Beast (1991) shares many similarities with the aforementioned historical versions. The girl, Belle, exchanges her life to save the life of her father. The beasts in the previous tales are instantly kind and welcoming; however, Disney’s beast is bitter and rude. Like the other beasts, he is under the spell of an enchanted being and requires the love of a woman to help him return to his human form. He is being punished for his cruel treatment of the enchantress and must redeem himself through the love of another. Unlike the girl from The Singing, Springing Lark, Belle resists the beast’s affections, but grows to love him despite his horrid appearance.

Figure 3: Dancing Beauty and the Beast (Source: Disney, 1991)

Figure 3 shows the dancing scene that occurs only moments before the beast allows Belle to return to her father, thus solidifying her feelings for the creature.

Though all versions of the tale share in their message of self-sacrifice and virtuous behavior, the older versions present a clear message about daughters’ resentment towards arranged marriage.  The new version of Beauty and the Beast presents the daughter as a strong-willed, independent, only child. Her kind nature is made obvious when paired with her character foil, the arrogant, self-centered Gaston. Belle, the leading lady in the modern-day version of the tale, is an intellectual who tricks her father into allowing her to take his place as the beast’s prisoner. She is no victim; she determines her own fate and refuses to relent until the beast shows kindness to her. Disney’s Belle is a reflection of what today’s society expects from women. She places the importance brains over brawn and kindness over looks.

Addy, Sidney Oldall. “The Small-Tooth Dog.” Household Tales and Other Traditional Remains: Collected in the Counties of York, Lincoln, Derby, and Nottingham. London: David Nutt; Sheffield: Pawson and Brailsford, 1895. 1-4. Google Books Web. 15 Apr. 2017.  

Bay, J. Christian. “Beauty and the Horse.” Danish Fairy and Folk Tales. New York & London: Harper and Brothers, 1899. 14-20. Google Books Web. 15 Apr. 2017.  

Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment. New York: Vintage Books, 1989. Print.

Dancing Beauty and the Beast. 1991. Disney. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.

Kyngdok. The Small Toothed Dog. 2011. Deviant Art. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.

Rackham, Arthur. The Singing Springing Lark. 1909. W.W. Norton & Co. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.

“The Singing, Springing Lark.” Grimm 088: The Singing, Springing Lark, 15 Nov. 2011, www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm088.html. Accessed 15 Apr. 2017.