Although it is true that the main focus of many fairy tales, and in particular in the Beauty and the Beast tales, the focus of the tale is on the young lovers, the figure of "the parent" also plays an important role. The parent(s) always plays some role in the tale, and in many it is the parent's "fault" that the Beauty is imprisoned, etc. by the Beast. However, the parent is integral to one of the main fairy tale themes, that of progression from childhood with the parent to adulthood with one's spouse. In these tales, the parent is not only an integral link to the childhood and therefore necessary to establish the progression, but furthermore in many cases the parent is the direct cause of the meeting between beauty and the beast.
The Beauty and the Beast tales are a unique twist on the generic "Prince Charming" story, but ultimately the tale ends with the prince and the princess living happily ever after. Because it is a tale of marriage, it is important that there be a distinction between the "childhood" and the eventual marital life. By including a parent prominently in the story, there is a very concrete sense of progression, of the parent handing the daughter off to her new husband. The father is the more common parent in the stories, and it is usually his "fault" that Beauty and Beast meet. It is directly because of the father's actions that Beauty and the Beast meet, and therefore he is indirectly responsible for their marriage, a proper "handing off" of the bride to the groom.
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And it makes sense that the father, as opposed to the mother, would be the parent that had to "approve" of the relationship. Despite the fact that the father has some resentment with giving his daughter over to Beast, at the same time it kinda suggest that in the end, the father set this all up.
ReplyDeleteI agree that parents, especially fathers, are very important in the Beauty and the Beast stories. I think you are right when you say that the parents are more of a catalyst for Beauty to grow into an adult, than a real influence on the person she becomes. Parents in these stories may act in a way to influence their children's futures, but do seem to allow them to begin their adult life on their own.
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