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| FIG:1 LA BELLE ET LA BETE (1946) POSTER |
La Belle et la Bête is a love story about a young girl named Belle (Josette Day), who asks for a rose from her father (Marcel André) when he goes away. When he picks the rose, he is sentenced to death, unless someone takes his place. The courageous Belle then trades herself in place of her father to be locked in the castle of a Beast (Jean Marais). The Beast then falls in love with Belle and continuously asks for her hand in marriage despite her constant repulse for the Beast, until she comes around to his personality and kindness towards the end.
In 1928 Propp suggested that every narrative has eight different character types consisting of the following: The hero- the character that usually fulfils a quest in search of a better life, the princess- who needs to be rescued, the father- gives the hero their task, the helper- helps the hero in their quest, the dispatcher- makes the evil known to send the hero to the rescue, the villain- the hero's enemy, the donor- helps to prepare the hero or give them magical object, and the false hero- tries to take credit for the hero's actions and marry the princess. These are argued to be the stereotypical set of characters, that make up many narratives, by Propp.
In relation to La Belle et la Bête Propp's theory can be applied to the majority of the characters in the film. When applying this to the characters in La Belle et la Bête, at first glance it would be imagined that Belle would be the princess as she ends up marrying the Beast, but in actual fact, Belle ends up being the hero of this fairytale. Belle is the hero of the story because not only is she the main protagonist, show's courage by standing in her father's place and is seeking a better life for herself. Beast is the princess, despite being male and a monster, according to Propp's theory because he fits the typical definition of a princess character, the need to be rescued, his desperation for marriage but there's the barrier of the curse that the Beast is battling. "The princess isn't always a woman and in fact the princess isn't always human" (Fordor, M. 2015). When it comes to the role of the donor, this can also be fulfilled by the Beast as he helps Belle through her struggle of missing her father and because of this he releases her, even letting her use his magical glove to transport wherever she wants to go. The dispatcher of the story and the father is Belle's father Maurice. He is the one that picked the rose from Beast's garden and in turn with this was sentenced to death unless one of his daughters would step in his place- this, taking her fathers place, ends up being Belle's (hero) quest to save Maurice from death. The closest character to a helper of the story is Magnificent the horse, who is used as a tool for Belle to get to and from the castle quickly with very little effort. When looking at the villains of La Belle et la Bête it can be said that the sisters fit this role, they become jealous of Belle and want the fortune she is so close to, greed get the better of them and "They either want the opposite of what the hero wants.. or they want the princess for themselves" (Fordor, M. 2015) this is extremely accurate due to Belle having no desire for the fortune Beast has entrusted her with, but the sisters are not after Beast (the princess) himself. For the last part of Propp's theory, there is the false hero, this is Avenant. Avenant is the false hero of La Belle et la Bête because he acts like he wants to save Belle in the beginning, asking for her hand in marriage to take her away from being a slave stuck with her sisters (the villains). But towards the end of the film, Avenant switches sides, working with the sisters to steal the Beasts fortune, clearly leaving him as the false hero. When a spectator takes into account these characters are the particular stereotypes Propp's theory suggests, they can start to see that many films follow this particular pattern, even in a lot of modern films today, even if all the characters aren't used.
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| FIG:2 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991) POSTER |
There have been many more adaptations of La Belle et la Bête, Propp's theory from the 1946 version will be compared to Disney's 1991: Beauty and the Beast. In Disney's version of Beauty and the Beast, there are a few different characters added that push Propp's theory even further, making it more accurate. The hero remains Belle, as she takes her father's place in the prison for the theft of a rose, she is the protagonist of the film and ends up falling in love with the princess- Beast. The Beast is still the princess in this adaptation as well, though not nearly as gentle as the previous film suggested. The Beast in the 1991 version is not nearly as interested as the 1946 version in terms of falling in love with Belle, he is more caught up in his anger about looking the way he does and the fear of staying that way forever (relating to shadow archetypes in Jung theory). This goes against the typical princess stereotype as suggested by Propp, 'The Princess may be seen very little in the story, perhaps appearing only at the end, 'Beast only shows his true Prince form by the end of the film when he transforms back, 'or may be an integral character, for example where she accompanies the Hero on his mission, where he may win her heart by the courage and determination of his actions.' (Changingminds.org, 2018). After a while of being in the castle with Belle, despite his aggression when she first arrives, the Beast comes around and falls in love with her- in agreeance with the statement above, she wins his heart. However, it can also be argued that Beast is the hero (Belle's) prize by the end of the film when his transformation back into a wealthy prince takes place. The donor in the Disney remake is also the Beast, as he gives Belle the magical mirror to allow her to see whatever she asks to, and the library along with a room of her own. The helper/s of the remake are Lumiere and Cogsworth, much more clear helpers than Magnificent the horse. The two work together with Belle and the Beast to get them to communicate better and stop the two from arguing, they help Belle on her quest of saving her father by making her comfortable in the castle. This is a more obvious form of a helper than Magnificent, who is replaced by Phillipe the horse- who also acts as a helpful mode of transport. The villain of the film is no longer the sisters, as they are not in the Disney version of the film, instead, the villain becomes the villagers of the town. Belle is an outcast from the town from the start of the film, as is her father, this makes her stand out and the town doesn't take different very well. The villagers also become very greedy and want to kill the Beast at the end of the film, a lot like the sisters in the 1946 version of the film. The dispatcher of Beauty and the Beast is still Belle's father, Maurice, as she replaces him in the tower so he can be free. (As Belle's father, he also falls under the role of the princesses father, despite him not being the Beast's father- Belle ends up as a literal princess by the end.) The false hero of Beauty and the Beast is Gaston. Gaston may appear as a villain at first, but actually fits the role of a false hero much better. He tries to kill the Beast at the end of the film 'or they want the princess for themselves' (Fordor, 2015), fighting against what the hero (Belle) wanted to protect.
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| FIG:3 HELPERS, COGSWORTH AND LUMIERE (1991) |
Although the roles suggested by Propp's theory don't completely line up to the definitions or what one would imagine the characters to be, Beauty and the Beast still works very well with this theory compared to La Belle et la Bête. The characters may be different and have different ways about complying to Propp's theory, but not much has changed from the 1946 version to the versions now in terms of this theory. Overall, La Belle et la Bête works very well with Propp's character theory and not much has changed in the adaptation by Disney: Beauty and the Beast, other than adding a few characters that boost the use of this theory even more. This theory can be seen in many films if a spectator know's the theory, 'We simply accept this as a part of cinema, and of stories in general, and it’s because all stories follow the same narrative structure' (Sampson, R. 2015)
Illustrations:
Figure 1: La Belle et la Bête Poster (1946) [Poster] At: https://www.allposters.co.uk/-st/Beauty-and-the-Beast-1946-Posters_c44165_.htm (Accessed on: 11 October 18)
Figure 2: Beauty and the Beast Poster (1991) [Poster] At: https://www.amazon.co.uk/DISNEY-BEAUTY-BEAST-Movie-Poster/dp/B00KQRRY06 (Accessed on: 11 October 18)
Figure 3: Helpers, Cogsworth and Lumiere (1991) [Film Still] At: https://comicbook.com/popculturenow/2016/08/26/first-look-at-live-action-lumiere-and-cogsworth-from-beauty-and-/ (Accessed on: 11 October 18)
Bibliography:
Changeminds.org (2018) Propp's Dramatis Personae [Online] At: http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/characters/propp_personae.htm (Accessed on: 11 October 18)
Fordor, M. (2015) Propp's Character Archetypes [Online] At: https://mfmediafilm.wordpress.com/2015/09/21/propps-character-archetypes/ (Accessed on: 11 October 18)
Sampson, R. (2015) Propp's Character Conventions In Modern Film [Online] At: https://www.filminquiry.com/character-conventions-propp/
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