The Beast

Hey guys, I know it's been a while, and for that, I'm sorry. I just... only write when I feel it, y'know? But as an apology, let's take a look at possibly one of my favorite characters of all time: the eponymous Beast, from Beauty & the Beast. I'm not a big fan of the story, but the character is very full of... passion, and regret. Very much a tortured soul. I'd give my strong hand to play him. But, lacking that, let's take a look at him.

Before the Enchantress, he's a generic, if misanthropic, rich handsome prince, shut up in his castle. But then he turned Her away, and She cursed him. I think she was a Fae Queen, if you ask me. Her brand of "justice", the poetic nature of the curse, even the way she disguised herself. If she was, then that has major implications for the actual effects and mechanisms of the curse, but that's for another time.  Then comes my favorite part of the tale...

He sits alone in his castle, empty, save for hurrying shadows and broken mirrors, served only by the ticking of the clock and the flickering of the candle. His home- his prison- decays more around him, and he grows more beastly, with each passing day, each falling petal. He sits, brooding, byronic, and yet savage; tortured in the old west wing, surrounded by dust and cobwebs, meditating on the symbol, the meaning, the ultimate end of his curse. Around his castle are high walls, bolstered by thorns like swords. Beyond that, a wood filled with illusions and nightmares. Only a truly magnanimous and nonjudgmental person could break his curse, only a bold, courageous one would brave the wood, and only a clever, resourceful one would subvert the walls, and stay his anger. And only a tenderhearted person would try. But what are the odds of that person existing anywhere within the same part of the world as him?

Of course, she just comes stumbling up to his door, they "love and are loved in return" and the entire story is ruined for me. But then, I always preferred the Grimms' Tales over Disney's, too. Not to mention, I think he's far more attractive as the Beast than as the Prince.


Thank you for your time, friends, and I will see you when i see you...