Gothic hero - Mr Lyon, although there is no battle between good and
evil, he appears to overcome his battle with the supernatural and
become 'normal' once more - turns back into a man: "it was no longer a
lion in her arms but a man". He is kind, restores Beauty's father's
fortune, and transforms himself for her.
Supernatural - "The Beast" is a lion - "the gold fringes of his
mane", and Gothic is "the subversion of the natural order of
things" (Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
"Beauty" - the beautiful Gothic heroine
who overcomes the 'evil' of Mr Lyon's
condition
The father figure is less than what he could be. Typically fathers in
the Gothic are vicious/nasty to their children, though Beauty's father
is simply guilty of not being good enough to support her; "she had
asked for so little and he had not been able to give it to her". Also
allows her to forget about the Beast and indulge herself; "she smiled
at herself a little too often in mirrors these days"
Subversion of the natural or normal - man is rescued by a
woman, Beauty rescues the Beast from a lifetime of
loneliness and being a lion
Link to Carter and feminism - what
message is she trying to send to the
reader??
Themes
Beauty - "skin possesses
that same, inner light"
Grandeur - "solid gold," "great
chandelier," "marvellous glass bed,"
"towels as thick as fleece and vials of
suave unguents," "luxury...gave no
pleasure to its possessor"
Poverty and humility - "she longed for the
shabby home of their poverty," and "with a
flood of compassion, understood: all he is
doing is kissing my hands"
Rescue - "Don't die, Beast!" "the
price of her father's good fortune"
Purity - "inner light," "white rose,"
"benign light," "he was irradiated, as
if with a kind of halo"
Contextual links
C shows how society affects the way
women are perceived - 'conditioning' -
Beauty only becomes vain etc when
exposed to London society; "she smiled at
herself in mirrors a little too often these
days"
Beast a representation of C's wish to
show how the classic portrayal or men
as strong and overpowering is not
necessarily the case in reality - Beast
sweet and weak underneath
Beauty affects the Beast - he is dying as a
result of her leaving - "I am sick and I must
die" - shows females are the ones who
actually have the power - C a big feminist
and keen to show women in a more
powerful light
Carter keen to show women as being
stronger than perceived - Beauty can
deal with the poverty etc
Some key
quotes
"a great roaring, as of a beast of prey"
"leonine apparition shook Beauty's father until his teeth rattled and then
dropped him sprawling on his knees"
"mazy head of hair, on the eyes as
green as agate, on the golden hairs of
the great paws"
"absolute sweetness and absolute gravity, as if her eyes might
pierce appearances and see your soul"
"her visit to the Beast must be...the
price of her father's good fortune"
"she could not bring herself to touch him of her own
free will, he was so different from herself"
"she had asked for so little and he
had not been able to give it to
her"
"his Beauty, his
girl-child, his pet"
"because he loved his
daughter, Beauty's father
stole the rose"
"It seemed December still possessed his garden...the thin ghost of a
light on the verge of extinction"
"there was an air of exhaustion, of despair in the
house and, worse, a kind of physical disillusion,
as if its glamour had been sustained by a cheap
conjuring trick"