Tiger's Bride Comparison

903 Words4 Pages
“There is the great lesson of ‘Beauty and the Beast’, that a thing must be loved before it is lovable” (G.K. Chesterson). Beauty and the Beast is one of the most popular fairy tales around the world. It has thousands of retellings, variations, and adaptations. One of those variations is ‘The Tiger’s Bride’ by Angela Carter who takes a modern twist on the tale and turns it into a semi-horror classic. This essay will compare the original and the modern plot and the messages that each story reveals. This discussion will also cover which tale I find more meaningful. Although each version of Beauty and the Beast revolves around the same type of themes there are some key differences in the plots. For example, in the original tale by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beautmont, Beautmont describes Beauty as “charming, sweet-tempered,… [and] kindly” (Beautmont). Beauty is considered a kind of rarity as is so the rose she desires. Her father was threatened to be killed by the Beast unless his he returns one of his daughters to take his place. Beauty’s father does not…show more content…
Beauty is won in a card game to the Beast by her father instead of willingly going. In this version as well, there are many allusions to the devil and hell. The Beast is also not as kind in this story. The Beast’s “sole desire is to see the pretty young lady unclothed” (751). Beauty also has very different personality traits. She is never fearful of the Beast, but intrigued and while she is not unkind, she is not as warm as she is in the original tale. The castle is described as “nothing human living” (752) there. This goes along with the horror aspects mentioned earlier. Eventually Beauty begins to liken herself with the Beast and everything else living in the castle. Perhaps Carter’s biggest change to the story is the fact instead of the Beast returning to his humanity, Beauty becomes an animal and surrenders to her “beautiful fur”

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