People think the moral of Disney's Beauty and the Beast is supposed to be something like "don't judge people by appearances" but that's really not it. That is a possible moral of some other versions of the story but the Disney version has a different lesson actually and it's "people can change." And I think this becomes obvious when we look at the Beast and Gaston as foils to each other. Because they both start out arrogant, selfish, and petty. Perhaps most importantly, at the outset neither of them really cares about Belle's feelings. Gaston wants to marry her because she's beautiful, and the Beast hopes she might break the spell, but neither is really considering her needs or desires at all, at the start. But the Beast changes. He tries to make Belle happy. He learns to put her first, to love her unselfishly, which culminates in him letting her go. Meanwhile Gaston responds to Belle's rejection by plotting to coerce her into doing what he wants anyway. He never spares a thought for what she wants. He never changes.
But where it gets really interesting is when you compare their supporting characters. Because all Gaston has around him are sycophants who will tell him how wonderful he is. So he never sees any need to change. Whereas the Beast's servants - even though they are his servants - don't hesitate to tell him when he needs to clean up his act. They are constantly reminding him to mind his manners, control his temper, and consider things from Belle's point of view.
jacobvanloon
turnnoffyourmind
titsay
prguitarman
romaincrisis
dededos
vaporwave
snowghoul
