pre-Rumbelle

The Original Beauty and the Beast (to me)

re-discovering ancient forms of modern things

        This post can be said to be something of an offshoot from my box of lost things post. Originally, I began writing this as a digression within that post, but being as it is presently 10:30 on Saturday and I have two posts yet to post, it became worthy of being a post in its own right. Well, and I had plenty to say on the subject anyways, so it's probably for the best that it is now its own post.
        When I went down in the basement that fateful night to look for our Harry Potter books, the first thing that caught my eye, as it so happened, was actually my old Beauty and the Beast storybook. I had been thinking of this just the other day, incidentally, as I was thinking about Rumbelle in Once Upon a Time while riding on the bus (thinking about Rumbelle is becoming a common and favored passtime of mine) and by way of that I came to think of my old storybook. As though summoned by my recent thoughts of it, the book was suddenly before me, and I carefully took it up in my hands and reread the full tale with new perspective.
        It’s rather neat in that it’s also not the same version of the story as the Disney version of the tale, and I think I actually had read that book before I saw the Disney movie, and I still sort of think of it as the original version of the story to me. It’s different from both the Disney story and the Once story. Kittens feature much more prominently into this version of the story, which, of course, definitely appeals to me. There are many other differences as well, from the way the enchanted rose plays in (in this story, it spells doom for the protagonist’s (see note on protagonist’s name under second picture) dad when he picks a rose from the beast’s garden rather than for the beast by holding his life in the balance) to the way in which she returns home (in all the tales, the beast lets her go at some point on the condition that she returns; in this tale, it is by way of a magic ring; in Once, it’s with the promise of a story and without the expectation that she will return) as well as many other interesting differences--which could be potentially another follow-up blog post, if it turns out that way. This book used to have one of those boxes that had buttons on the side of it that played sounds to go with the story, as well, but I think the batteries in that part corroded or something, and it’s gone now, so that’s why there’s that blank cardboard part at the side of it now.

here it is where I'm keeping the book now on display beside two of the items from my lost box, my castle and my music box, which makes for what I fancy quite a lovely and fantastical display.

the front of the book. You can see that the girl, in this version actually named "Beauty" (which is probably the thing I like least about this book, that she's named Beauty and not Belle, which is just strange, but I guess they figured the name "Belle" would be too French and would go over small childrens' heads) also looks rather different from the Disney Belle. She has the magic ring on her finger. The book has very lovely illustrations as well, and all the pictures are quite pretty.

The first inside page, with Beauty at the side of her dying beast, and her kitten concernedly tugging on her sleeve. In this version, the beast nearly dies from Beauty’s forgetfulness, because he gave her the magic ring so she could travel home, but for no more than seven days. She didn’t realize it had been more than seven days, and so when she came back, the Beast was dying because she’d been gone too long. Of course, at this point she kisses him and he becomes human again (though no dishes sing about being human again--dishes don’t factor into this version of the tale at all, not even Rumpel’s precious Chip). In this story, the Beast is even given a name for when he is human: Prince Bartholomew. Not quite as cool as Rumpelstiltskin, but still nice. 

This is the moment when the beast catches Beauty (I still want to call her Belle, but I must remind myself that this one is named Beauty) in his private room, where there is a picture of him as a human prince, which she doesn’t get until she sees him as a human again. Her kitten happily frolicks at the side. You can also see in the text where there are symbols that once corresponded to the little soundbox thingy at the side, so you’d push them and hear the beast’s roar, for example. I really liked it when I was little. 

The classic ballroom scene is very prettily portrayed here, with Beauty in a pink dress and her ever-present kitten playing with the harp. I believe this is also the page where the text, while listing things Beauty and the Beast did together, mentions that the two of them played hide-and-seek with her kitten, which is an awesome line that creates a great and hilarious mental image. It’s particularly funny if you try to apply it to Rumbelle--can’t you just picture if Belle had brought a kitten with her and she and Rumpel had played hide-and-seek with it? ;) 

The final page in the book, that happily-ever-after pagespread with a beautifully painted sunset and the kitten climbing on the prince’s once jealously-guarded rosebushes. The book concludes talking about how Beauty and Prince Bartholomew were known throughout the kingdom as kind, gentle, and fair rulers. It’s a nice little book. I wonder if you can still find it nowadays. Anywho.

This tangent also reminded me of some other things I've related to Rumbelle of late...

This is my calendar and a program I posted next to it from a play my cousins' school put on not too long ago, both of which make me think of Beauty and the Beast and hence Rumbelle right now.

The program for the play, which just so happened to be Beauty and the Beast. It was largely based on the Disney version. Someone in their group did the illustration, which is a lovely drawing of the enchanted rose that spells the beast's doom in this version if he cannot find love. My one cousin played Belle's wacky dad, the inventor, another cousin played a milkmaid in Belle's town, and a third cousin played Chip himself. I hadn't started watching Once yet, back then, or I would have looked at the whole thing so differently. 

My calendar picture this month even made me think of Rumbelle/Beauty and the Beast. It's a cat with a rose, and I couldn't help but think that the rose fit as the beautiful thing, or Belle, and the cat could be the beastly thing, or Rumpel/Beast (though the cat is beautiful, as well. Of course, Rumpel's beautiful in his own way, too.) This calendar is themed "life lessons you can learn from your cat" and so this month's picture is captioned "see the beauty in something others cannot". It seems more likely they mean that the cat is seeing the beauty in the flower, but it can also be like how Belle saw the beauty in Rumpel or the Beast (depending on the story) when no one else could. It fits. And the fact that I made the connection also reveals how obsessed I am. 

        I had also intended upon getting into a digression on the Frenchness of Beauty and the Beast and how that appears or doesn't in the different versions and from there on how romantic it is to watch Beauty and the Beast in French, and how we did so in French class, and some other French romantic stuff. Yes, I do actually plan to digress sometimes. But now I must needs post.
        Beyond the violet mist, we rediscovered ancient and cherished tales and compared them in new light with more recently discovered tales, as well as with other pleasant visual mediums.