![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
100 Disney Things [004]: Beauty and the Beast and the Hades and Persephone Myth
100 Disney Things [004]
That graphic is crap but I was really excited about posting this, so whatevs.
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... oh well. I want to talk about both.
Beauty and the Beast and the Hades and Persephone Myth
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 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. Neither of these are plot elements in the Disney version of BATB.
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. Here are my reasons:
First, I guess the main reason I associate the two is because... hm... how to say this... 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. 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). (I don't actually read romance novels but from osmosis I think these are fairly common plots??)
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). Abduction is one of them. 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. (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.)
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. For example, the episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys that features H&P ("The Other Side") makes Persephone in a relationship with/attracted to Hades before the abduction takes place (the relationship being given a "girl-being-~rebellious~-by-dating-the-bad-boy" spin, at least IIRC). I've also seen takes on the tale where Persephone knowingly eats the pomegranate seeds (although I think most stories make it accidental/inadvertent, or even a trick). I suppose the reason why consent is added is because it's almost too brain-breaking/horrifying to imagine it any other way? Like, imagine the alternative where there's no consent/love on Persephone's part at all. Yikes! (As far as I can tell, I think the original H&P are sort of portrayed as a more-or-less normal marriage and Persephone's consent was just sort of irrelevant because that's how marriages worked back then -- obviously for people today her consent is VERY relevant.)
Anyway, that long tangent aside, my point is that, in the end, BATB and H&P (as they appear today) are both widely-adored stories today despite their problematic abduction-turning-into-romance aspects, which I don't think are as present in E&P (although it could be seen that way).
Okay, all that was the first similarity. The second similarity is related to above but I think independent enough to give it its own point. In spite of the way H&P is reinterpreted consensual, there is a particular element of the plot that to me implies a more non-consensual BATB-style imprisonment. That is that the pomegranate seeds are the only food that Persephone accepts while in the underworld. Why? Because it's dramatic I guess? But to me, the rejection of food suggests grieving and a rejection of Hades' advances. In this way, it makes me think of BATB, since the heroine of BATB grieves at being separated from her father (this is how I see Persephone's reaction to being taken from her mother too) and also (in the original version), every night after dinner she turns down the Beast's marriage proposal (rejection of advances). The corresponding plot element in the Disney version is of course Belle's refusal to join the Beast for dinner (that is to say, she refuses to eat (in his presence, anyway)). So there is just enough in the H&P myth to suggest to me similar circumstances -- an undesired imprisonment/period of mourning that later develops into a more loving relationship. Again, this element is not so present in the E&P tale.
The third similarity is mostly between the Disney version of BATB and the H&P myth and that similarity is in the heroes of the stories. The Beast, as a broody/melancholy character who is at first incapable of loving, is a MUCH more Hades-like character than an Eros-like character (who, after all, is a symbol of romantic love). This really only applies to the Disney movie, though.
Fourth similarity is that both stories involve the passage of seasons and time before the resolution of the relationship. The explanation of the seasons and dead times of the year is an important part of the H&P myth. In the original tale of BATB, the heroine's father gets lost in winter where he finds a garden with roses growing despite the season; Beauty then spends several months at the castle before returning home; when she later returns to the castle, the Beast is dying. In the Disney version of BATB, Maurice gets lost in autumn; Belle spends the winter at the castle and then is released; and when the curse breaks, it literally is the end of the winter and the start of spring (matching the Beast's rebirth). All of these seasonal and life/death elements make me associate these two stories with each other.
With all that said, I think Belle/Beauty is much more of a Psyche-like character than a Persephone character. Belle/Beauty is a commoner whose main claim to fame is her beauty, much like how Psyche is a mortal who is exceedingly beautiful. By contrast, Persephone is a goddess, and not only is she a figure of death but also of life. Belle lacks that sense of regality and primal symbolism.
Still, I'll always associate Beauty and the Beast with Hades and Persephone first and foremost. Hopefully this post succeeded in illustrating why?
You can suggest topics for future posts for this meme over here.
no subject
no subject