Versions of Beauty and the Beast
When we talk about Beauty and the Beast in real life, we find ourselves with a story that has many, many variants and that, in addition, contains a universal moral message for all generations, and that is the only thing that has not changed.
Some experts tell us that its origin could come from Apuleius himself and his work “The Golden Ass”, with his story “Eros and Psyche«. Although nothing is clear. It is a story with strong folk connotations, which spread throughout Europe, maintaining an essential idea, but varying in many of its secondary aspects.
The basic axis in the true story of Beauty and the Beast is that appearances, those that in the first instance can be so irresistible and seductive, can often deceive. That what at first sight seems beautiful, may not be so in essence. And that behind an ugly or unpleasant image, we can find someone of great value. This is the only aspect that remains as the central pillar in the different versions of the story.
The first version of Beauty and the Beast in real life that we find belongs to Giovanni Francesco Straparola. Under the title “Le piacevoli notti” (The Pleasant Nights), the story of a young woman who meets a deformed and strange being under whom a good man hides appeared in 1550.
More than a century later, in 1697, it would be the well-known and already immortal Charles Perrault, who brought this story back to include it in his collection “Tales of Mother Goose”. But it was another person who, finally, would lay the foundations for the traditional tale that would come down to us without any further variation. It was a French aristocrat named Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont, who in 1756, while in England, decided to collect classic European stories to publish a kind of anthology.
He then came across the tale of Beauty and the Beast. She reduced it to its most basic elements and adorned it with an emotional background where a happy ending was not lacking.. The beast was a true beast, half human, half animal, and not a misshapen or ragged man. He transformed the Beast into a gentlemanSo much so that his transformation at the end into “Prince Charming” almost makes us unnecessary. It was then our French lady, Jean Marie de Beaumont, who chiseled the tale that we all know… But what was its true origin?
The true story of Beauty and the Beast
Now, beyond the versions of men and women passionate about letters in past centuries, the true story of Beauty and the Beast is a story that draws on the moralistic principles of Medieval Europe. Here there are no princes, no cultured gentlemen and gallants to dance with in a large room lit by chandeliers. Absolutely. In this story there is hunger, death and mercy.
The story of Beauty and the Beast in real life begins with three sisters. Two of them are really evil. The third is used to do the most arduous tasksfrom cleaning the house, to prostitution so that the sisters obtain profitability for keeping her in the home.
Every night she is tied up in a gloomy room where she observes the life outside. That life that she can never have, because her freedom has been vetoed. One day, a leper appears through that window. Filled with illness and misery, he cries out to this girl for some mercy, he is very hungry and only wants a simple crust of bread.
Our protagonist invites him to enter, letting him take what he wants in exchange for simply removing the chains around his neck and that his sisters have put him so that he does not escape.
The leper agrees. He removes the girl’s bonds and then satisfies her hunger. When the sisters return and see their cupboards empty of food, they blame their sister for stealing. Since they see her without her chains, they do not hesitate to blame and punish her. Cruelly, they flog her almost to death and lock her in the basement, when she is already dying.
But, the true story of Beauty and the Beast has an ending, if not a happy one, at least a fair one. The next day the leper returns, he looks out the window in search of the girl who had so kindly helped him. But she is not. Concerned, he knocks on the door and the sisters receive him with disdain and disgust at the appearance of him. The leper beggar enters the house and takes off his rags, showing himself to them as what he really is: Death himself.
It tells the story of Beauty and the Beast in real life that the figure of Death yells at the evil sisters that he has left the underworld because he knew of the existence of an extremely unhappy woman, mistreated by her own sisters. And that has decided to go to the earthly world to punish them, to fill their bodies with pustules and filth, of filth and disease, and offer them the slowest and most painful death possible, for harming such a noble woman.
Once the punishment is applied, Death goes down to the basement to lie down next to the girl who helped him, oroffering you a peaceful rest and a step to the beyond as sweet as possible… As you can see, a slight and subtle touch of romanticism is not exempt either.
Beyond Beauty and the Beast in real life, you may be interested
as you will see, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast It is not the only version, much less the original, of this children’s story. If you are one of those who are fascinated by discovering the reality behind all the fairy tales and the best-known stories, Do not miss this selection that we have made for you.
And you, Did you know the true story of Beauty and the Beast? Which of its versions do you like the most? Feel free to leave us your opinions in a comment. And if you are, like us, a fan of the fantasies of children’s stories, don’t miss this selection of the best disney quotes. Until next time!