Themes And Ideas In Beauty And The Beast
The plot of Beauty and the Beast is about a young country girl who lives in a small town with her father called Maurice. Gaston is a handsome man who wants to marry Belle because of her looks, however, she is not interested in him. Near the town, in a castle, lives the Beast. He used to be a Prince but was turned into a terrifying beast by an enchantress because he was selfish. The enchantress gave the Beast a rose that would keep losing its petals unless he could find someone to truly love him. One day, Maurice found himself lost in the forest, and he found the castle. The Beast thought he was a thief and locked him in a cell. Belle went to look for her father and found him in the castle. She took his place in the cell so that her father could be free. In the beginning, the Beast and Belle did not like each other, but they became closer. The Beast let Belle go after seeing that she missed her Father. Meanwhile, Gaston got the townspeople to follow him to kill the Beast. The Beast and Gaston fought, the Beast was badly injured but then Belle came and saved him by kissing him which showed that Belle loved the Beast. The curse broke and the Beast became human again. The prince was now kind and the town forgave him. The key moral message of this story is that beauty is found on the inside.
Beauty and the Beast show the topic of Doing Good through morality, conscience, and the Common Good. Morality was shown when the Beast didn’t throw Gaston off the edge of the castle. This was morality as he knew that it was the wrong thing to do. He knew the difference between good and bad. Conscience is shown when the Beast let Belle go. This was conscience as his love for Belle told him to do that. This was his decision.
The common good was shown when the village and castle residents joined for a celebration at the end of the movie. This is the common good as everyone became closer and everyone’s spirits were lifted. Everyone trusted everyone else.
Beauty and the Beast connects with the church teachings of the Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments. The Beatitude is “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” The definition of this Beatitude is that we forgive those who are unkind to us. The Beast was merciful when he let Gaston go after he cried for forgiveness while they were fighting at the castle. The Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” is shown by Mrs Potts. This Beatitude means that we should be satisfied with what we have. We should share the good things we have with others because God wants us to. Mrs Potts showed this very well, as although she was a teapot, she was grateful that she still had her son. The Beatitude, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God,” is shown by Agathe. This means that people do the right thing because they know it is right, not for a reward. Agathe is pure in heart as she cares for Maurice after he had been abandoned in the forest. She knew that this was the right thing to do in her heart.
The Commandment, You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour, is not shown by Gaston. Gaston does not follow this commandment as he lies throughout the film. One of the times is when he denies leaving Maurice in the woods. He isn’t following the commandment as he is not telling the truth.
