Vieled Beauty Essay, Research Paper

Veiled Beauty

Walt Disney’s film Beauty and the Beast in comparison to Roman and Greek Mythologies tale of “Cupid and Psyche.”

Walt Disney said it best when he stated, “True beauty comes from within.” Through precise design and articulation, the creators of the film Beauty and the Beast formed an elegant tale of true love found within the darkness of the unknown. Belle, the films beautiful book-loving heroine, starred as the main character in this Walt Disney classic Beauty and the Beast. It is throughout this film that Belle searches for more than her provincial life yet strangely finds what she was looking for confined within a cold dark mysterious palace. The search for internal beauty, the involvement of sacrifice and the curiosity of women can be traced back to the early days of Roman and Greek Mythology and can be found in present day tales. The passion for obtaining a more fulfilling was also found within Psyche, the protagonist in the Roman and Greek Mythological tale titled “Cupid and Psyche.” Like Belle, Psyche found herself in search for more than what she already had in life. Both magnificent tales, Beauty and the Beast and “Cupid and Psyche,” share similar concepts about beauty found from within and a woman’s desire to curiously search for more than her provincial life. However, both tales have their differences in content and pattern to create a different affect of each tale.

In the tale of Beauty and the Beast, Belle is faced with a terribly frightening situation; she gave up her father and her freedom all in one day. Belle courageously offered herself as the Beast’s prisoner in exchange for her father’s freedom, and as frightened as she may have been, she grew to feel safe within his courtiers. The servants of the palace, Cogsworth the clock, Lumier the candlestick, Mrs. Potts the teapot and Chip the tea cup, served Belle with charming and graceful hospitality, making her feel more and more comfortable with her new living situation as time went on. Coincidentally, Psyche experienced a similar situation. As beautiful as Psyche was, she was forever without a mate. To please he family and herself, Psyche followed the orders from the Oracle of Apollo in order to find that mysterious lost love she lived without. Psyche, unlike Belle, sacrificed her freedom to find love. Belle, on the other hand sacrificed her freedom for her father’s freedom. Once Psyche was brought to the beautiful palace, she was embraced by wonderful servants that were not able to materialize before her eyes. These servants aided Psyche’s happiness and saw to it that she remained at ease. Psyche was given remarkable service by the servants as Belle was, except Psyche could not see her subjects and Belle was able to see subjects as material objects. Both Psyche and Belle were brought to unimaginable places, light and dark, and both were made to feel welcome as if these palaces were their homes. In time, the comfort of home filled their hearts and they began to see what else was in store for themselves.

Psyche adapted to her strange living situation gradually. She grew closer and closer to the invisible man of the palace, knowing that this was the man she was meant to be with forever. Unfortunately, Psyche let doubt, in the form of her two sisters, take over the loving faith she had for her new mate. Psyche grew curious and suspicious of Cupid because she pondered the thought of him being a horrific monster. In her heart she knew Cupid was a kind and gentle man, but her eyes and mind needed evidence to prove that Cupid was not a monster and that her assumptions about her love were wrong. Belle, on the other hand, kept her positive loving faith in the Beast constantly, and she never believed the doubtful imaginary gossip that the people in the town shared. Belle trusted that the Beast was truly as her heart said he was, kind and gentle. Psyche willingly lost her faith in Cupid by giving into her doubts and curiosity; she saw through her eyes and not through her heart. Going against the wishes of her mate, Psyche shined a forbidden light upon Cupid, and to her dismay, Cupid was the most beautiful man she had ever laid eyes upon. Cupid awoke, and in furious rage, he left and the palace to heal his broken heart. Cupid believed in love greatly, but love without trust and faith is not love at all. In the tale of Beauty and the Beast, the Beast releases Belle from all confinements and lets her return to her father. If she truly loved him as he loved her, then she would return to him with open arms. Trust in love and the willingness to keep the faith is what kept Belle and the Beast together, and lack therefore, is what separated Psyche from Cupid.

With love comes trust and the ability to love beyond what the mind can see or understand. Belle grew to be more of an open-minded person as time proceeded. At first, the Beast was cold and cruel, leaving her to believe that there was nothing good to come of him. However, as time passed, the Beast grew fond of Belle and they began to find a hidden beauty within each other. In the film Beauty and the Beast, Belle sang to herself, “There’s something sweet and almost kind…I wonder why I didn’t see it there before.” Each of them were curious about the other, yet both were too scared to ever get very close. Both Belle and the Beast were falling in love without ever realizing. Belle also had curious tendencies about her life with the Beast. She was specifically told to not search the west wing of the palace, yet her curiosity drove her to go anyhow. Her curiosity is also what opened her mind to the gentle-loving beast. Without this deeply imbedded interest in the Beast, Belle would have never fallen in love with the Beast. These curious tendencies also consisted in Psyche. Psyche, although warned about the result, shined the light upon her mate to see if he was a monster. Psyche let her feminine curiosity ruin the relationship between Cupid and herself. Psyche also used her curiosity to broaden her horizons; when Psyche took a leap of faith to meet the foreseen man of her dreams she let her deep wonder about him take her to the tips of happiness. When he doubted her heart and the man she grew to love, her happiness failed and she lost what she wished for. Luckily, these two great love stories have a happy ending: Belle and the Beast fall in love and live happily ever after. Psyche proved her undying love for Cupid and they lived happily ever after.

From Roman and Greek Mythology to a world renowned animation film artist, Walt Disney, come two magnificent tales about finding your path in life, love and the beauty that exists within. Together, Beauty and the Beast and “Cupid and Psyche,” paint a mesmerizing picture that will forever be remembered throughout time. These similar stories have taught the viewers and readers lessons about inner beauty, sacrifice for love and the consistent path of curiosity that women seem to follow throughout time. These classics have also inscribed the lessons of love that still exist today: Trust your heart, have faith in love and most importantly, things aren’t always the way they seem. These lessons derived from both tales flow through modern tales today and set a remarkable example for the future tales to come.