Madame de Villeneuve's version of Beauty and the Beast was interesting to read. I think I actually like the original version better, because it was a more complex plot. Although, it was neat seeing how Disney changed from the original version taking only some aspects. Reading the original version of Beauty and the Beast shortly after watching Disney's movie made me realize one similarity that bothered me: the father. In both versions the father willingly sacrifices the daughter for his own life...
Something doesn't seem right to me there. Seriously though, what kind of father would do that...
This really bothered me about the storyline. I understand that it shows the princess as more of a heroic character because she is sacrificing herself for her father's life, but in both versions the father sort of just lets her do so. Disney and Madame de Villeneuve could have both had the father at least try to refuse for the princess's capturing. In the end, obviously it works out because the she falls in love with the beast, but still the father's role never made much sense to me. By doing this Disney and Madame de Villeneuve portray men more negatively. It shows Belle's ability to be a more heroic character compared to earlier Disney characters. It also emphasizes the importance of family. To Belle, even though her father is thought as "crazy" in Disney's version and poor in Madame de Villeneuve's version, to Belle, family is so important, more specifically, her father is so important to her, that she sacrifices her life to save her father.
In general I think this is a great stepping stone to portraying women more positively. Disney continues to do so with more and more recent films and its interesting to see how the depiction of women are constantly changing, including the role of men and fathers.
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