I find it interesting that most adaptations of the H&P myth make the relationship highly consensual even though abduction is a key aspect of the story. (This kind of plot definitely has issues in the power imbalance at the start, but I do admit there is some kind of deep appeal for me anyway.) In this sense, even if the BATB story or the Hades and Persephone myth weren't originally a modern romance novel, they both very easily translate into one, and I think the reason why they appeal so much to modern readers/consumers is tied into that. In general, I think there is a huge array of plot devices in romance stories to create situations where the hero and heroine live under the same roof - and are therefore constantly near/interacting with each other - but aren't yet in love (because the slow development over time of a romance is what's emotionally satisfying). (I don't actually read romance novels but from osmosis I think these are fairly common plots?) Put another way, they both play out like a particular romance novel plot, which is "young single woman gets kidnapped or captured by pirate/raider/someone and her initial animosity eventually transforms into attraction" (with some of "young single woman goes to live in the household of older, cold, jaded, reclusive, mysterious man and they gradually fall in love" to boot). They are both very popular stories among women, and most modern interpretations of the stories portray very romantically a relationship that is initially based on imprisonment/abduction. Here are my reasons:įirst, I guess the main reason I associate the two is because. However, I think the original story does also have a resemblance to the Hades and Persephone myth as well, and I would say the Disney version resembles that myth more than the E&P one. Neither of these are plot elements in the Disney version of BATB. I suppose the original version of BATB IS closer to Eros and Psyche, since both feature a hero who is a monster during the day and human during the night (sort of: in the original BATB story the prince appears in the heroine's dreams so she sort of spends her nights with the prince and in the E&P story Eros never lets Psyche see him, but is supposedly a creature) and both feature the heroine asking to go home, which is when her jealous sisters sabotage her relationship with the hero. I always found it odd that the story of Beauty and the Beast is linked to the myth of Cupid/Eros and Psyche because to me, the myth I always think of first when I think of BATB is that of Hades and Persephone. ![]() I want to talk about both.īeauty and the Beast and the Hades and Persephone Myth In this essay, I'm sort of treating Beauty and the Beast the Disney movie as the same thing as Beauty and the Beast the original fairy tale, which I just said is a no-no, but. ![]() That graphic is crap but I was really excited about posting this, so whatevs.
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