The History of Beauty & The Beast | Fairy Tales with Jen
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- Grab a cup of tea and pull up a chair. Today I’m chatting about the history of Beauty & the Beast, where the fairy tale comes from and the strange messages within. x
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EXTRA THINGS:
Fairy Tale Playlist • FAIRY TALE VIDEOS
History of Cinderella • The History of Cindere...
Beauty & The Beast by Gabrielle-Suzanna Barbot de Villenueve tinyurl.com/z7...
Recommended reading on the history of Fairy Tales
The Irresistible Fairy Tale by Jack Zipes tinyurl.com/zy...
From Beast to the Blonde by Marina Warner tinyurl.com/jf...
Once Upon a Time by Marina Warner tinyurl.com/hl...
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WHO I AM
Hello, my name's Jen. I'm an award-winning poet and short story writer. My debut short story collection 'The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night' is forthcoming from Two Roads, November 2017, and my first children's book, 'Franklin's Flying Bookshop,' will be published by Thames and Hudson, September 2017. I'm also the author of the Sunday Times bestselling 'Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops' series, 'The Bookshop Book' and 'The Hungry Ghost Festival.'
I run writing workshops, give talks at universities & book festivals on a variety of topics, judge literary prizes, and take on freelance writing and editing. If you would like to speak with me about the possibility of working together, please get in touch via email: jenvcampbell@gmail.com
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(Since starting TH-cam, some of you have been asking what's wrong with my hands. This should answer any questions :) tinyurl.com/z3k...)
NB This is not a sponsored video, and unless otherwise stated all books were bought by me. - บันเทิง
I don't know if this is a strange comment, but I find your voice so comforting! The amazing bookish content, paired with the cadences of your sentences always makes for such a relaxing time.
thank you x
@@jenvcampbell Agreed! So..vey-Sweet! Love,Love,Love
Very intriguing! I'd love to hear about Rumpelstiltskin, it used to be my favourite fairy tale
Noted - thanks! x
have you ever seen Penelope the movie? there was a girl who gets cursed with a pig nose.
Talk educationally to me Jen.
Always.
This reminds me of Jane Eyre-like the little details too (having to go visit family & staying longer than expected only to find the guy in distress because of it)
Belle is royalty and related to fairies because her father was a king who slept with a fairy and she was hidden away as the merchant's replacement daughter (his real daughter died). Guess who the king/Belle's real dad is? The brother to the Beast's mom! That's right, Beauty and the Beast were cousins in this befuddled, original novelization.
YIKES!
One detail I loved when I read Villeneuve's was the fact the Beast's mother doesn't have a problem with his son marrying his cousin, but she didn't like his son marrying the daughter of a commoner, despite she broke the spell.
This is my favorite "Fairy Tales with Jen" so far.
Very good! I've held off from commenting for a while, but I might as well do it now.
Considering how unlucky she was with her own marriage, I doubt Villeneuve would 've bought into the idea that women just have to accept husbands and know their place. I feel like the biggest problem with her story is that while it condemns bad things like unequal marriages, it then sidesteps around them without actually presenting any alternatives.
"Unequal marriages are bad! The prince shouldn't have to marry that old predatory fairy! But Belle, listen, see that Beast? Piece of hunk, actually"
"The queen is horribly classist and that's bad but, Surprise! Belle was a fairy princess all along so it doesn't really matter!"
It's also a bit too convenient that a lot of the questionable actions of the Beast were things the fairy (the donor figure, not the predatory one) made him do, like the whole ruse to get Belle to the castle by using her father. The fact that the fairy actually threatened to kill Belle so the DreamPrince/Beast wouldn't confess the truth (which would make the curse irreversible) is just... astonishing. While she does get things done, it's never really addressed that she does it in quite nasty ways sometimes.
I do have to give Villeneuve credit, though. She lets Belle say "no" a lot, every night, and she's allowed to be shallow for a bit and learn from it without being really punished. Low bar, I know, but considering the precedents are total compliancy or being gored by a pig, it's significant.
This is the best series of videos on Booktube.
Thanks very much :)
There's a movie on Netflix called Penelope where a woman is cursed with the nose of a pig until she finds true love. I think the ending twist gives it a beautifully sad moral and that you'd really appreciate it
That whole bit about the beast being based on a real person is both horrific and fascinating! Also snorted into my tea when Belle agreed to marry the beast because she felt guilty haha. Fab video. Absolutely loving the series!
This is SO interesting to me! I am absolutely obsessed with Beauty and The Beast. Love this video! ❤️
I'm glad - thank you! x
My day is instantly better when I see you have uploaded a new video. You put so much passion into each one of them that it inspires me. Thank you!
Thank you x
This video came at the perfect time. I'm currently working on a loose retelling of B&TB and you gave me quite a few things to reconsider when it comes to the problematic way the fairy tale vilifies/values people based on physical appearance. So thank you for that, the video was really helpful. :)
So excited to see this video since "Beauty and the Beast" was one of favorite Disney movies when I was a kid, I saw the musical, we performed it in my dance school and I have continued to love it throughout the years, so I'm always interested in knowing the "real story" behind the Disney story. Great video as always Jen :)
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it x
I would love to hear your take on White Bear King Valemon or East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Both are very similar Norwegian fairy tales. I really like them as they are one of the few fairy tales I know of where the princess makes a mistake, and then the meat of the story is her having to fix things. As it's also about a prince in disguise, it would be interesting to see how you read it.
I've just discovered this playlist and I'm loving it! I think you'll like "Rejected Princesses" by Jason Porath as well, it's not really fairytales, but it's about stories of badass women that are not mentioned in history books :)
If you like that, you'll probably like this, too :) tinyurl.com/jeednr9
Great video! rumpelstiltskin, Repunzel, the little match girl, Thumbellina, Little Red Ridding hood, Snow White & Rose Red.
Amazing! I wish these came out more often but at the same time, I love that they're so spread apart. Makes me appreciate them more. Keep them coming :)
They take a lot of time to make; I do them as often as I can. Thanks :) x
I'm so happy you made this, I love this series.
+InGhostlyCompany thank you x
These episodes are always so fun and interesting! Thank you ❤️️ I was wondering if you could do one on the little mermaid? I know it's written by Hans Christian Andersen, but I can imagine that he also drew from older tales, myths and legends. Xx
I may well do that :) in the mean time, if you're looking for a book on mermaids, I'd recommend this tinyurl.com/jbb7jh3
Ah yes, the "you might be trapped in arranged marriages and it might suck but if you're persistent and patient it may not suck" myths. Descending from Eros and Psyche.
Much love for this series. It was interesting to hear that the fairytale version that i read as a child was at the beginning similar to the original. It differentiated greatly when she got to the beasts castle. No dream boys telling what to do.
So interesting how these stories came about.
I've just found out your channel and I do like this playlist so much. Thanks for all the videos!
Wonderful as always, Jen! I love this series, thank you for putting your time and effort into making these fantastic videos. I would be love to see a video on Thumbelina and Little Red Riding Hood.
Thank you. Red Riding Hood is definitely on my list - so many things to talk about there! x
Thank you for doing this tale in your series! My husband watched along with me and we both enjoyed it! Always looking forward to your videos!
Thank you x
Finally! I love this series!
Thanks again for another interesting look at fairytales and their origins. I love your candid and funny commentary, particularly where the story refers to social norms of the time and how ridiculous they are.
Yay. Another fairy tale with Jen. I feel i need to gather around the fireplace while Jen sits in the armchair.
Beauty and the Beast seems to be a initiation tale from the mysteries, i.e. to have a LOT of esoteric symbology. My hunch is that is a conflict between the animal man" and "spiritual and/or rational man" (man being used in a plural sense for mankind).
The rose and marriage suggests reference to the Rosicrucian Chemical Marriage. I'm sure additional interpretation would come if i thought about it more, and read it.
Thanking you for the video.
Addendum: another element or trope is the outward appearance of nakedness. I remember this being used symbolically in the western esoterica tradition. By naked it doesn't mean naked naked (well yes), but used as a symbolic representation of something I've forgotten (i read the book 20 years ago, so I have forgotten the meaning of "being naked"). I'm thinking this corresponds with the Beast's appearance.
Good job! Thank you, miss Jen! This is informative and brief dissemination of information rather than reading all of the tales. thank you for making easy to us by transmitting your learning. I appreciate it. God bless!
I totally love this video series of yours and Beauty & The Beast is one of my most favourite fairy tales! Thank you so much for sharing the backstory with all of us! xxx
I love this series of videos :D I'm not sure if it's considered a "fairytale" but a story I've always remembered reading as a kid was The Pied Piper of Hamelin, I'd love to see you explore the origins of that story :)
Oh, I can definitely do that!
I really love your fairytale videos! They are always really interesting
Thank you! x
I would like to know the best fairy tales for kids. Like maybe there’s a specific book I should buy for reading to my kids before bed.
That depends on their age!
this was very good thank you! Excellent research
Thank you Jen, that was fascinating. It is so interesting to see how the story evolved to what is now Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Look forward to the next in the series. 🤗
I love your channel, probably my favorite book tube channel. This series is really, really interesting, too
Thank you!
This was very interesting! I l love the Fairy Tales with Jen-series.
:D x
Thank for this. I learned recently that Evelyn Waugh's novel Scoop was also partly inspired by Beauty and the Beast.
I found this helpful and interesting. I feel both educated and entertained. Thank you!
Also reminded me of The Wife Of Bath's Tale from canterbury tales!
Love this video!! Thank you so much!
I was always with anticipation, for these fairytale videos you make!💛 Always so informative & interesting 😊 Thanks Jen!
The pig story reminds me of a story called, "Fitcher's Bird".
Thank you!
I can listen to you talk about fairytales all day :)
you just showed up in my suggested vids and now i'm hooked!! thanks for the quality content. xx
Welcome! x
Watch 'La Belle et Bete' by Jean Cocteau filmed in 1946.
The "bring me the first being that greets you when you arrive home" didn't happen neither Villeneuve nor Beaumont, but It was in similar tales like Grimm's The Singing Springing Lark, Colshorn's The Clinking Clanking Lowesleaf or Cosquin's The White Wolf.
You're quite right - an error on my part there; in Villeneuve's version the Beast says "Bring me one of your daughters" and it is up to her father to decide which one he brings.
@@jenvcampbell It's a pretty common error because how common in the variants is present. Like in Donkeyskin, when sometimes I forgot there is no balls on that tale, but because the balls are pretty common in the other similar tales like Allerleirauh, so sometimes I expect one to happen when I'm re-reading the story.
Amazing as always, Jen! You're hilarious - I felt guilty for giggling at the pig murderer . As for Beauty & the Beast - very interesting how she did't question marrying the Beast after his transformation - as if when he transforms physically everything she didn't like about him before would change. The whole "beautiful = good" thing is quite unpleasant. Can't wait for Bluebeard, loved this fairy tale as a child, even thought it scared me shitless xx
Bluebeard still scares me shitless, ha! x
Thanks for sharing. I love hearing the true stories behind the Disney Princesses. I especially love the story of Beauty Belle and the Beast. I wish you all the luck in the future with your stories take care.☺☺☺
this was wonderful - and i'm looking forward to the bluebeard video when it eventuates. angela carter's interpretations of that one in 'the bloody chamber' asre some of my faves.
amazing work. You kept mu attention through the whole video. You are great narrator. Please, keep up this series
+KAJA530 don't worry, I will :) x
Now that Disney plus launched it would be amazing that you continue these. 👀 I watched Peter Pan, realized the archetypes at play and that’s how I found you 🙌
Excellent video! Thank you, Jen. I am very eager for the Peter Pan video analysis, and I look forward to hear more about your love of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.
You are such a good story teller! Love your videos
Jane Eyre has the part where she asks permission to go away for a week but ends up staying away longer - and then Rochester proposes when she comes back! Damn! I'm so late to this party but it's a really good party.
Love this series! I just read the original story and did my research on the story and did a video on it, too. LOL! Thanks for doing all this amazing work on fairy tales!
love this series!
I'm glad ^_^ x
Glorious! Requests for Snow White & Rose Red vs Snow White, Bluebeard, the Little Mermaid. Fascinated to hear that there is a Splash reboot in the making with Channing Tatum as the Mermaid
Thank you for a very detailed video! Loved the 'must be true love' comment! I laughed so much :D I really enjoyed this fairytale analysis: brilliant video!
Glad you enjoyed it! x
Really interesting video, Jen. Thank you for sharing your research.
Thanks for watching. x
Very interesting. Finally a fairy tale I've actually read.
Professor and author Jack Zipes would definitely agree with you that it all started with Apuleius' tale of 'Cupid and Psyche,' though he might wonder why you left out authors Madame Leprince de Beaumont, Madame d'Aulnoy, Jean-Paul Bignon and Mme de Villeneuve's instrumental roles in a history of Beauty and The Beast.
I do talk about Villeneuve here - that’s most of this video.
I'm sorry I never heard you use her name.
3:55
Amazing!!
I'm really loving this series!!!
thank you x
Thank you so much for making this, Jen. I'd like to read the original story at some point! There's a French film adaptation (1946)--have you seen it? My French professor mentioned the story was used as propaganda for girls who were wed to older men to not judge their husbands straightaway and be good little wives. (Gross.) There's also an interesting Diana motif in that version. Anyway, great video! xx
"My French professor mentioned the story was used as propaganda for girls who were wed to older men to not judge their husbands straightaway and be good little wives" - sounds about right. Urgh! x
Yay! My favorite videos on TH-cam!!!
Thank you x
Thank you very much for this, it was very interesting. You're so educated and talented that you're goals.
And also could you talk about The Sleeping Beauty? It's my favorite fairytale of all times.
+Diana Rocha already done Sleeping Beauty - click on the playlist linked in the video description :)
I love these videos Jen!
For everyone who needs MOAR, you should have a look at The Singing Bone podcast... I just discovered it and it reminds me a lot of your series on fairy tales :)
Thank you for this interesting info about the beauty & the beast. U have a lovely voice and I really enjoyed it🤗🤗
thank you x
I think you have it in you to be a great lecturer! I'd definitely make sure to always come to your class :D I was familiar with a variation of this tale however that one was without the dreaming of a beautiful man who then proceeds to show the woman her place and tells her what to do (lol). It's quite an interesting origin story and I believe that beauty and goodness is always so well tied in original fairytales that it is hard to find one without it.
+Lesia's Tale I do teach on occasion :)
It shows! :)
Please, please make a video about Bluebeard! These are so interesting, sometimes even shocking. What's your favourite fairy tale? :)
I was surprised to hear that the origins for the story of the beauty of the beast were inspired by Petrus. And what is it with people selling off their children? I know that selling of children still happens today but I can't get over the mindset of someone like that.
Love this series! I think it's fascinating to discover the real life origins of fairy tale characters (eg Petrus Gonsalvus in this case). Similarly, the legend of vampires may come from the genetic condition porphyria (vomiting, abdominal pain and skin blisters in reaction to sunlight) which can be treated via the avoidance of sunlight (and thus withdrawal from society).
If I can make a fairytale request it would be Rapunzel!
I find the 18th-Century Vampire Controversy fascinating!
That, and right next to the picture of Petrus & his wife Catherine - the REAL _Beauty & the "Beast"_ - is a picture of Turkish-Roman dictator Vlad Dracul, otherwise known as Vlad The Impaler, who would be the basis for Bram Stoker's Count Dracula, just like how the real Dr. Victor Frankenstein became the mad doctor who played God to create the Monster in Mary Shelley's book as well as said creation's runaway Bride who wanted nothing to do with the Monster, causing him to go into a rampage.
I love this series, Jen! Have you listened to any of the Myths and Legends podcast? I think you might like it xx
I've listened to one or two - didn't get into them (I know; I should love them), may give them another go :) x
Did you ever watch Jim Henson's The Storyteller with John Hurt as a kid? I have been rewatching them since John Hurts passing.
No, I didn't. Just Googled and it came out when I was one. Might take a look - thanks :)
Jen Campbell yeah I didn't watch the original release but it was constantly replayed on Australian Tv until the late 90s. I used to love it so much.
Can you please do Snow White?! 💙
Thank you, Jen. Love this series a lot. Love your sacarcism too😂😂
I didn't know all of this! Great video, Jen. I have to admit I thought that Belle had more personality (regarding the love at first sight thing). But I guess that being a fairytale things normally are simpler. In addition I feel like deformity as you said it's always seen temporary and when is not like that is consider an evil personality trade. Do you know any tale (classic or modern) that doesn't take this approach?
I love your videos!
Xx
The Inked Path Shrek????
Oh true! I completely forgot about that one! Thank you!
xx
Amazing video!!! I love your channel 😄
What a coincidence. I just finished Jane Austin's "Northanger Abbey". It kept reminding me of Beauty and the Beast.
There's a Russian folktale, The Snow Child. Would you be interested in letting us know more about that? Eowyn Ivey's novel, with the same title, is one of my favorites.
I look forward to your videos. ~ Thank you.
it's not my favourite book, unfortunately, though I do like the fairy tale itself and the history behind it, so I may talk about that :) x
This was super interesting! Thanks Jen. It's really interesting to think about the messages about female sexuality and the need to repress it in fairy tales. Funny that the early version did have Beauty/Belle falling in "instalove" (maybe we can just say what it really is - lust) with the beautiful man in her dreams. Thanks for putting time into these videos! I'm sure they take a while to make.
They do indeed, but it's worth it ^_^ thanks x
This was fantastic, Jen
It is - I've got that one on my list, it's going to take longer than the rest; a lot of back story! x
Reading that makes me so excited and scary prone to internal girly squeaking xD
:D x
This was really interesting. Thank you! 😘
you're welcome - and thanks x
I would really like for you to do a video about "Little Mermaid". "Blue Beard" would be interesting too, as well as Snow White.
I read a sort of re-write of Snow White called "Boy Snow Bird" by Helen Oyeyemi, which was really good.
I also want to read another re-write called "The Snow Child" by Eowyn Ivey, which looks very interesting as well. Have you heard of those two books? I would love to know your thoughts about them!
Thanks again for those great vids!
+Liz86000 I haven't read Boy Snow Bird as I've heard it's quite transphobic. I have read The Snow Child and thought it was ok - not one of my favourites. The next fairy tale video I'm doing is The Little Mermaid, which will be up next week x
Cool, thank you. It's strange, I didn't remember that about that book. I read it quite a long time ago, and I remember it dealt with many issue, especially race. And it was from the point of view of the "evil Queen", and how she becomes the way she is. But the language was beautiful, I remember that. I'll have to re-read it again and I'll tell you.
I have seen pictures of the inspired - I think it was written as a coping method for his facial condition
It was written by a woman, Gabrielle-suzanne de Villeneuve, and as far as I am aware she did not have a facial disfigurement.
Very very interesting, thank you for sharing! :D
you're welcome! x
Very interesting!
That was so interesting Jen ! Thank you :) ❤️
you're welcome! and thanks x
Great video, Jen! It's really interesting how Belle is praised as such a feminist heroine when she wasn't all that in the original version!
"No animated cutlery!" lolllll
Love this series :)
Thank you for mntning the myth of Cupid & Psyche: I was wondering whether you would.
Why do you think there so many YA retellings of this particular fairy tale? Are there too many?
Could you do Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, & Sleeping Beauty?
I've already done Sleeping Beauty :) The other two are on my list, thanks!
I'm seeing your Sleeping B. vid now. Thanx
She has already done Sleeping Beauty.
As always, fantasic and informative! Love the snark. Since you've asked for requests, I'll throw out Snow White :)
+Shelly Owens noted ☺ thanks! x
As always, love this series. I had no idea that the Beast was inspired by a real person. Would love to read/write a historical fiction about him.
I was wondering, do you have a favorite fairy tale? Many of us in my PhD program are doing fandom studies, and as you can imagine, there's a lot of fairy tale love going around.
Couldn't possibly choose. Sometimes Little Red Riding Hood (more for the history than anything else), sometimes Sedna, sometimes others. :)
Jen Campbell I know, it's not a fair question ;) I think my top are Rapunzel, 12 Dancing Princesses, and All Kinds of Fur. Never read Sedna, though.
There are lots of different variations of Sedna. You might be able to guess why I like her: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedna_(mythology)
What about the version by Madame le Prince de Beaumont (1857?)? Or the Jean Cocteau film, La Belle et La Bete (1946)?
Beaumont’s version was just an adaptation of Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve's. As for the 1946 film; this series is focused on older tales.
Jen Campbell thank you for pointing me in the direction of Villeneuve!
Can you do snow white and repunzel?
Lovely in-depth and informative video! Fairy tale history is amusing.I think you should check out and watch the 2014 French-German version of Beauty and the Beast that stars Lea Sydeoux as belle and Vincent Cassel as Beast with subtitles as I heard some good things about it and also the story is unlike what is the norm and what is usually or conventionally portrayed .authentic..quite faithful to the original tale on which it is based! Personally the 2017 live action was meh for me. It was ok and somewhat a disappointment contrary to many who loved it....but there are hundreds who disliked it at imdb so that is bit cheerful; ) My favourite is the 1991 animated classic ..such a childhood gem that fills me with nostalgia and happy feelings:))
Yes!!! Or check out the 1946 Beauty and the Beast, it’s a great BtaB movie