Beauty and the Beast - Parents

The principal parental figure present in Beauty and the Beast stories is the father. In some versions of the story it is the father’s love (and other times possibly guilt?) that moves him to reward Beauty’s piousness and undying love for him by honoring a simple request for a rose. The father’s determination to obtain the rose sets the story in motion and instigates the union between Beauty and the Beast. In Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, the father doesn’t let the sisters mistreat Beauty, as there are no sisters, but he takes a wrong turn in the woods and enter the Beast’s house for shelter. The father’s lack of direction causes him to make the acquaintance of the Beast and his daughter seeks to find him after his extended absence. Additionally, it is the father’s fear of the Beast in most versions that is juxtaposed with Beauty’s fortitude in getting to know the Beast beyond superficial layers. Beauty’s unconditional love for her father prompts her to take her father’s position as the Beast’s slave as she would rather die because of the Beast instead of the grief she would suffer from the loss of her father. It is also the father’s sickness that helps the Beast to realize the magnitude of his love for Beauty. Beast cannot handle Beauty’s sickness (which manifests because of her dads sickness) and agrees to let her visit her dad for a three days (or a week). When she doesn’t make good on her promise, Beast suffers. Beauty’s return and care ultimately sets the breaks the magic spell and begins the magical transformation. The father principally plays the role of uniting the Beauty and the Beast. Sometimes it is his promise, not thinking that beauty would be the first thing to greet him, or his dismay toward his fate after obtaining the flower or his directionally challenged nature. Either way, Beauty seeks to do all that she can for her father even if that means the possibility of dying.