The story behind Beauty and the Beast

The world is waiting with baited breath for the release of Disney’s adaptation of Beauty and the Beast about a monstrous-looking prince and a young woman who fall in love. But few know that the original story by de Villeneuve was not so much a fairy tale as it was an indication of the changing times in 18th century France.

Assignments

Read the text and answer the questions.

1 What does Jack Zipes say about the times in which the story was written?

2 Does Beauty mind her father losing all his money?

3 Why is it strange that the Beast (who is really a prince) is rich?

4 What does the text say about the use of humour?

5 What moral does the text mean when the Good Fairy tries to convince the Queen of Beauty being a worthy bride for her son?

Watch the video about the new Beauty and the Beast film. Answer the following questions about the first 4 minutes of the video.

6 What does Emma like so much about Belle?

7 What does Emma explain about the relationship between Belle and the Beast that ‘was so beautiful’ to her?

8 What does Dan say about dance?

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