Why I Want to be Like Belle

For people that know me well, it's no secret that I love Belle and Beauty and the Beast. Although I love most Disney movies, this one is #1 in my book. I have a huge collection of what I call "Beauty and Beast paraphernalia." I've dressed up as Belle at least half a dozen times in two different costumes. I don't even know if I could begin to count the number of coloring pages I've colored of Belle (and the other Disney princesses) over the years. But to be honest, I don’t know exactly when it happened that Beauty and the Beast became my favorite movie. I do know that I always loved the video as a kid, that I loved it when I got to meet Belle at Disneyland when I was 15, and that I started my Belle collection shortly after. Other than that, I’m not really sure when it happened.

Here's a sampling of my Belle collection

Two full shelves and then some

I put some of my ornaments on the curtain by their hooks to make more display room! lol

There are a couple of other non-Beauty and the Beast things up there as well, but I had to spread them out! lol

But one thing I do know is that my love for this film has only grown as I have gotten older. I see so much depth, symbolism, and wisdom in this version of the fairy tale. Being a princess story fan, Belle has become my favorite princess. But the reasons I love her go far beyond her beauty or her happily ever after. It goes to the heart of her character. In a similar way as I did with Cinderella, I’m going to list the character traits that I admire the most in her.

1) Her Modesty (Inner Character)

​When I say “modesty” here, I’m not talking about her clothing. In fact, there are some moments that her yellow ball gown is immodest (unfortunately). I’m talking about her inner character being reflected externally. If you forgive me for moment, it makes me think of a line in a Jonas Brothers song (*cough, cough*) I want to use to illustrate my point. In their song Lovebug, I was always intrigued by this line: 

“Beautiful but you don’t even try
​Modesty is just so hard to find.” 

This line really does make me think of Belle, because although it seemed that everyone else in her town thought she was beautiful, she was totally unassuming about it. She was a natural beauty that was comfortable with herself. She had no idea how beautiful was, or how her beauty was perceived by everyone around her. Aside from her struggle to fit it among the people in town, she was very comfortable with who she was as a person and a woman. She wasn’t seeking out a man for affirm her or romance her (unlike many Disney princesses or heroines). But the thing that strikes me the most about it is that Belle was a young woman whose inner self matched her outward appearance. With Belle, what you see is what you get. Unlike most of the other princesses, Belle had nothing to hide about herself and was able to be transparent. This revealed that she was a kind young woman that was tender-hearted towards those in need. I personally think that her transparency was part of what made the people in town uncomfortable around her. But this quality was part of what aided her in reaching the Beast.
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As I look at this quality in her, what I want for myself is the ability to have my inner self matched my outward appearance. So many of us struggle with putting on façades of external beauty to mask the struggles we face or the insecurities that make us vulnerable. But Belle is a great reminder that when we open with who we are but also show kindness to others, we can reach people on a deeper level. It’s when we achieve this kind of a mindset that I believe we are able to have our insides be reflected externally in a positive way.

2) Her Sacrifice

​I think this part of the story is rather unappreciated, because it really it one of the most important elements of the whole story. The sacrifice that Belle makes for her father’s life is huge! It a significant element of the original fairy tale that Belle’s father had to bring one of his virgin daughters (since he had two other daughters and a few sons) as ransom for trespassing on his castle grounds, and that she had to agree to stay of her own free will. Yet this sacrifice in the Disney version, although it is there, is often not appreciated fully enough. Belle gave up everything, even her relationship with her father, to save his life. She agreed to live in a dark dreary castle with a beastly creature, all because her father would of died under the same conditions. It did become a little easier when she found out that she didn’t have to live in dungeon and that the castle was enchanted, but it doesn’t change the fact that she gave up everything for her father’s sake. All she had to call her own was her horse and the one dress on her back. This also illustrates the love and devotion she had for those she loved. And there is definitely a profound lesson to be learned from it.

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​Everyone has been or will be called to demonstrate sacrificial love in different ways throughout their lifetime. Not all of these calls will literally demand your life or freedom, but they could. There are many that are too selfish or self-absorbed to actually do it. Others are simply too scared. And especially when it comes to Disney heroines or princesses, there aren’t too many that are willing to sacrifice their dreams. The only other ones that immediately comes to mind are Rapunzel and Mulan (but I’ll save those stories for other posts). As a Christian, I believe that I am called to sacrificially follow Christ, but I’m also called to sacrificially love others in everyday life. This is no easy task, but an incredible fulfilling one. If we desire to do this, we have to be looking for opportunities to demonstrate sacrificial agape love, in order to prepare ourselves for the time when we may be called to give more of ourselves for someone’s sake.

3) Her Choice To Be Content Despite Her Circumstances​

​If I had to pick one character trait in Belle that I dislike in her, it’s her discontentment in the beginning of the film. (I'm also not a fan of the fact that she was being a snoop when she went into the West Wing. But she learns her lesson there too) The fact that she is calling the town that she’s living in “provincial” implies that she thinks this is a boring town where nothing out of the ordinary ever happens and she was tired of it. She didn’t have any deep relationships or friendships because everyone thought she was odd. But it also stands to reason that she was bored with the people around her too. Her desire for adventure was underlined with a desire to escape the boring life she was currently leading.

​However, after she makes the selfless decision to sacrifice her freedom for her father, her attitude changes. In the Broadway play, Belle’s song Home reveals her struggle to be content in her circumstances, because she doesn’t feel like she could ever call the Beast’s castle home. But in the end, not only did she realize that it was wrong to complain about the town she lived in, but she resolves that she will make the best of her situation, even if she doesn’t ever quite feel at home. Eventually, she finds home among the friends she makes with the enchanted servants and with the Beast himself when she learns to love him the way he is. I think there is a profound lesson here.

​So although I don’t like her discontentment in the beginning of the film, she makes the right choice later, and one that I admire. We often get caught up in our present circumstances and struggle to see God’s hand in it. We try to blame Him when things go wrong and claim those circumstances are evidence that He doesn’t love us or is punishing us. These types of situations tend to make us turn inwardly bitter, often resulting in us pushing God and the ones we love away from us. Some of us even end up becoming paralyzed by our circumstances. But Belle chooses a different path than the one of bitterness and discontentment. Instead of finding peace and contentment in her circumstances, she instead found it from her perspective of hope in the middle of a difficult situation. She viewed this situation as an opportunity that she needed to make the best of, and she was made better for it. I hope to remember to find my peace not in circumstances, but from the perspective of the hope I have in my salvation through Jesus Christ and the eternal promises of God. 

4) Her Ability to Look Past the External

All of all the traits Belle displays throughout her story, this one is probably my favorite. Being human, it is so easy to get caught up in the external. But Belle doesn’t. I think it’s partially because, as I mentioned earlier, Belle was transparent about who she was and tenderhearted toward others. This helped her in being able to see past others’ outward appearances and see their souls. In the Beast’s case, although he was ugly, mean, and angry on the outside, Belle started to figure out that there was so much hurt in the Beast’s past that left him where he was when she met him. Once she saw that, she was able to slowly but surely get through to him in a way that soften his harden heart. It eventually helped him learn how to love. This is by far the most profound lesson from this fairy tale.
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The moral of this fairy tale has remained consistent across all the variations of this fairy tale over the centuries this story has been told – true beauty is found within. This moral is not just practical or truthful, but it is actually biblical in its original nature. It always makes me think of 1 Samuel 16:7b:

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

​A person that is truly beautiful is reflecting their inner beauty outwardly. But there are also will be people in our lives that, although they may not be attractive by our world’s standards, have an incredible beauty inside of them that the world often misses. It’s because we are caught up in looking at outward appearances, and making judgements based on those appearances. But we some important things when we do – that every person on this earth is beautiful because they were created in God’s image, and they have all been brought at the price of Jesus’ blood. In these two facts, we can see that every person is special and has value. That’s something that a Christian should not take lightly.

​When I look at what Belle does for the Beast, it brings a sobering challenge to intentionally look past outward appearances, recognize inner beauty and potential within each person, and to do what we can to bring out the best in them. In a Christian’s case, it’s means valuing them as Christ did, not matter how difficult it is. That is a tall order, and often is much easier said than done. It definitely wasn’t easy for Belle. But it’s one of the best ways to live our lives in light of the second greatest commandment – to love our neighbor as ourselves. It usually ends up bringing about change within ourselves when we devote ourselves to these tasks, which brings me to my last point.

5) Her Change of Worldview​

The last trait I see in Belle that I admire is the change within her worldview that takes place by the end of the story. Her heart and kindness remained the same, but in the Broadway play, she acknowledge that there has been a change in the way she sees the world. This all came about in the process of trying to touch the heart of the Beast. While working on touching someone else’s life, her own life was changed. The song A Change in Me illustrates two major changes that have taken place in her perspective of the world around her.

​First, she learned that "good can come from bad." Before she had to face the loss of her freedom and her father, she was of the impression that bad situations are not capable of being redeemed for a better purpose. When she was first shown to her room and he demanded she come to dinner, she probably thought that nothing good could ever come from the life she now faced. But in the end, she was proven wrong. She made friends she hadn’t had before (plus she also had more books than she could read in a lifetime! lol). But the greatest change she observed was the change in the heart of the Beast. Good did come out of something bad.

Second, she became more grounded in reality. The world of adventure she had longed for was disappearing from her mind and was being replaced by a sharpen sense of the change that was needed in the world around her. Before this, her fantasies of adventure made her discontent with the reality of the life she led in her small provincial town. But through everything that happens, she learns to be content in her circumstances, realizing that life bring plenty of adventure in the mundane. She’s been learning more about looking past the external, even to the point that she sees the Beast as more of man than Gaston, who is more of a monster. Because of these changes in her perspective, she doesn’t view the world around her the same way as she did before her captivity. It also leads her to finally fall in love with the Beast and risk everything to defend him and save him, and there is a profound lesson to be learned from it.

​When we seek to make a difference in the lives of those around us, we cannot help but be changed ourselves. If we are trying to teach something, we will most likely be learning the same lesson we are teaching our students. Challenging others will often result of us being challenged in the process. Some might resist being challenged or changed. But Belle embraces the change in perspective she’s had from her experience. It ultimately taught her how to love the Beast. Sometimes, we need to change in perspective in order to better ourselves. Christians should embrace opportunities to change our perspective in order to conform to that of Christ. Because when we comfort to God’s will, it will often result in us learning to love other more fully.

Final Thoughts

“Even if she didn’t get her happy ending, her story would be worth telling because of the life she led.”

​An old youth minister of mine said this about Cinderella. But the more I thought about it, the more I also believe that this applied to Belle, at two different points of her story. If Belle had been locked up in the Beast’s castle for the rest of her life, even if she never befriended the Beast, her story would have been worth telling because of the sacrifice she made for her father. If the Beast had died after Gaston stabbed him, Belle’s story would still be worth telling because of how her love and kindness changed the Beast’s heart. It isn’t the happy ending that makes me return to this story again and again. It’s the lives these characters led, what I have learned from the stories of their lives, and how I have learned to apply those lessons to my life. The happy ever after is just the icing on the cake. I hope some of you are able to take these lessons to heart as well.

A picture from when I met Belle at Disneyland, Spring 2006

A picture of me with my Beauty and the Beast poster over my bed in my room. I'm also wearing a tank top, a necklace, and a charm bracelet

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