Beauty, Belle, and me

The concept of *beauty* comes up in the Disney movies Beauty and the Beast, and in my new Dark Fantasy novel Belle Dame Sans Merci. In this blog, I'll explore the value of beauty and several other character traits, and share some personal experiences as well. 

Ironically, both main characters are named 'Belle,' meaning beautiful. Belle from Beauty and the Beast was given that name by her parents. It's almost as if they expected her to be pretty, and not much else. However, it's ironic, because Belle seems to be the smartest girl in her town, perhaps for the simple reason that she reads, and no one else does. In the live-action movie, she even invents a washing machine, which shows her ingenuity (although it should be noted that it's a cheap character trait because it doesn't move the plot forward and as she doesn't invent anything else).

In my novel Belle Dame Sans Merci, Belle named by her case worker before she's brought to Hell. He thought she was too pretty to be intimidating, and wanted to emphasize her more deadly aspects. Belle goes on to use her beauty to her advantage -- to kill bad people to gain karma to go to Heaven. In that way, she shows cunning and intelligence.

However, some characters only saw Belle for her external shell, like Gaston in Beauty and the Beast. "She's the most beautiful girl in the village... That makes her the best." Without knowing anything about Belle, he proposes to her.

Similar to Beauty and the Beast, in Belle Dame Sans Merci, a couple of demons are attracted to Belle. A djinni asks Belle if she wants to watch a dirty movie, and Beelzebub asks her to join the new demon recruits when they start a bar fight. (He had ulterior motives, trust me.) They obviously knew nothing about her, and yet, they wanted to hang out with her.

In my opinion, it's terribly shallow to be attracted to someone for their looks alone. I think back to my teen years, when I was an ugly ducking for a while. I saw through the douchebags who suddenly paid attention to me after I became more prettier, and I see through it now. But some people latch onto physical attractiveness with a death grip.

When my best friend's boyfriend (ahem, ex-boyfriend) was drunk, he always said, "You're so pretty!" to her, over and over.
It was annoying, but I didn't stop him. I let them have their connection, even if I didn't understand it. That is, until one night, when he was particularly soused. He kept slurring his admirations. After the fifth time, I couldn't take it anymore.
"You're so pretty," he slurred to my friend.
I set my wine glass down hard on the tabletop. "You know," I said to him. "She's smart, too. And funny. And kind!"
"Wellll, yeah!" He grinned. "But she's sooooo preeeeetty."

I'm not trying to judge relationships, or how someone views attraction within themselves and others. It's just douchy to love someone's outer appearance and not care about their inner beauty as well.

Beauty is an unspoken theme in both books, and one present in many women's lives, too. Women want to be more than just admired for their beauty -- they want to be admired for their character, their bravery, their intelligence, wit, charm, and skill, and more (though it should be noted that they don't need any admiration whatsoever, and may not desire it at all). 

So, both Belles are more than their names. They're also smart and well-read. But what about their other positive character traits?

In Belle Dame Sans Merci, Belle learns new skills to fight her enemy. She researches a weapon to kill him, and discovers something no one else had ever found before. She grows as a character, and shows intense bravery and sacrifice for her friends, proving she is more than just her good looks and intelligence.

Sadly, I don't think Belle from Beauty and the Beast has many of these additional traits. Her sacrifices are continuously made to help the Beast with his sullen-natured problems only, and not to help herself or her cause. She does show kindness, just like the other Belle, only it's to her own detriment, and makes her seem less intelligent. She demonstrates very little growth of character, unless a decline in independence could be seen as growth (and it can't). Contrary to her intelligent nature, none of the books she reads can help her escape (unless you count the mental escape). She does show bravery from time to time, but none of it seems to stick. 

I suppose what I'm saying is that Disney's Beauty and the Beast could have had a stronger female protagonist, especially in this day and age.

It's funny -- shallow beauty-chasers still try to cozy up to me, even at my age. It's disheartening to put up with such people and wonder about ulterior motives, but ultimately, I don't care. I'd rather read a book. One with a strong female protagonist.

Beauty and the Beast, Trump, and Belle Dame Sans Merci

Two weeks ago, I recorded an interview with Vick Mickunas for the Book Nook on WYSO, my local NPR radio station. I was honored and thrilled to talk about my latest book, Belle Dame Sans Merci. We recorded a 30-minute show that will air Sunday, July 30th, 2017.

Vick Mickunas and me after recording the Book Nook

However, after the interview, I realized there was more I wanted to say about Belle Dame Sans Merci. This is the first blog where I'll share my deeper thoughts about the creation and meaning behind my book.

When I was writing Belle in 2016, the U.S. primaries and election were upon us. Trump's corrupt businesses and abuse of power came up several times, and he made malicious remarks about a lot of people. Worse yet, he seemed to be edging forward with the rascist, sexist, homophobic, and general Republican-party line populous.

On October 8th, 2016, exactly one month before the election, a recording surfaced of him talking about women's beauty, or lack thereof. In the recording, he also says "Grab 'em by the pussy. You can do anything" (NY Times). And yet despite his beastly, patriarchal, assault-condoning speech, on November 8, 2016, he was elected to be the next president. Many Americans, including myself, were filled with dread and fear as he was sworn into office January 20, 2017. What would he do to the populous he seemed to detest?

Around the same time, Disney was planning a live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast, to be released March 17, 2017. I'd loved the cartoon movie when I was a child. My sisters and I would crowd around the television and play it back on mute, voicing all the lines from start to finish. Knowing all the lines -- that's love!

But after I survived a traumatic, emotionally abusive relationship in my 20s, I found the movie didn't hold up. When I rewatched it, I saw Belle trapped and crying in pain and fear, and the beast lashing out in rage. Just like Belle, I'd been trapped under the thumb of a controlling, wild-tempered a**hole who'd cut me off from my friends, family, and money. Just like Belle, after crying for hours, I resigned myself to my fate too. He had some good moments. If only I could soften his temper and make him happier.

Before the movie was released, videos of Emma Watson arose, in which she dismissed Belle's suspected Stockholm Syndrome.

Emma Watson: "Belle actively argues and disagrees with him constantly. She has none of the characteristics of someone with Stockholm Syndrome because she keeps her independence, she keeps her independence of mind. And I also think that there is a very intentional switch, where, in my mind Belle, decided to stay. She gives as good as she gets. He bangs on the door, and she bangs back. There's this defiance that -- you think I'm going to come and eat dinner with you and I'm your prisoner? Absolutely not."

The problem with EmmaWatson's logic is that when Belle is imprisoned, she doesn't have her independence. Belle is his prisoner. She's not just hanging out with a sullen, emo friend -- she's locked in his castle surrounded by wolves. The Beast is planning for them to fall in love for his own selfish reasons. Also, it should be said that banging on doors and arguing doesn't make her free. I'm glad the new Belle expressed her frustration instead of cowering like the old version, but when she's talking back, she's still trapped. She's still reacting to a monster.

To make things worse, the servants constantly gaslight her and lower her guard with their kindness. He's not so bad once you get to know him. Just give him a chance! Oh, and wear something pretty. Contrary to what Emma Watson says, Belle does lose her independence of mind. She makes compromise after compromise.  Belle wanted "adventure in the great wide, somewhere." She wanted it "more than [she] could tell." She didn't want to be someone's "little wife."

When she does escape, the Beast protects her from the wolves in the forest. However, this doesn't mean the Beast isn't still an a**hole -- he's just protecting his vested interests against a pack of other monsters. If Beauty and the Beast truly were a feminist tale, Belle would've high-tailed it out of the forest at that moment. She wouldn't have helped her oppressor back to his castle-prison and then volunteered to be his nurse when there are plenty of servants who can clearly make and serve food. In this way, I do believe Belle is brainwashed. Maybe not in the technical Stockholm Syndrome way, but she clearly isn't acting in her own best interests.

And sure, the Beast changes -- he controls his temper better, and gives Belle more rooms to wander through, including a library. Eventually, he releases her so she can take care of her ailing father. Once again, if this were a truly feminist tale, she would've left at that moment and never returned.

Emma Watson may be correct about the technical definition of Stockholm Syndrome, but she did not speak about the emotional abuse Belle endured. Being abused emotionally and trapped in a relationship is a far more subtle abuse compared to physical violence, but it is still a very real incident. People feel trapped, like they can't escape. Or if they do, he will hunt them down and make them pay.

Watch the song at 4:01 and tell me it isn't horrifying. 

The unfortunate thing is that in most abusive relationships, the Beast never changes. I know from experience that narcissists will promise anything to get their relationship back. "I've changed! And I'm so sorry for how I treated you. You deserve to be treated better, and I'm going to start doing that." I can tell you from experience that whenever I fell for that, the Beast's ugly head would rise up again, taking my money, not letting me hang out with friends after work, and creating arguments that left me feeling broken.

When I was writing Belle  Dame Sans Merci in 2016, I was living through all of these emotions. I was actively rebelling against our soon-to-be-president, my beastly ex, and the patriarchal society in general. So in my book, I wanted to make Belle not only stand up for herself, but stay true to her desire for freedom and her goals. In short, I wanted Belle to be stronger. I'm curious why no one else made the connection between Trump and the Beast. Both are powerful figures with money, servants, and a hair-trigger temper. Both lash out. Both "take what they want."

In this day and age, both versions of Beauty and the Beast set a bad example, and I'm not the only one who thinks so. We shouldn't tell girls and women to cozy up to abusers and kidnappers. Women never be self-realized with merely yelling back at their abusers. We need to instill in them a sense of wholeness, where they value themselves and can recognize a bad relationship when they're in it. These girls need a community in which they can receive assistance instead of abandonment. They need goals and the freedom to attain them. They don't need to be judged for their beauty, grabbed by the pussy, kidnapped for months, repressed, gaslighted, and guilted into bad relationships.

I tried to give my Belle all of the strengths I wished I had at my weakest moments, and the strengths the Disney versions lacked as well. I gave her hobbies, a best-friend, a community, and people who see what's going on and offer assistance. It's my hope that by highlighting these issues, we might stop this kind of behavior from happening again.

Who knows what will happen with Trump's presidency. I'm glad we're aware of his beastly behavior, and that we're not all excusing it merely because he's a bratty, cursed prince. I was happy to see there are people monitoring every sexist comment that comes from Trump. I can only hope there are more who are watching and counting his errors than making excuses for him.