Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast: Difference between revisions

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Line 1: {{~~trope~~work}} [[File:beautybook_3169.jpg\|frame]] [[Robin McKinley]]'s first published novel (1976), this is a [[Twice -Told Tale\|retelling]] of ''[[Beauty and The Beast]]'' (in case you didn't catch it [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin\|in the title]]). The plot follows the storyline of the original [[Fairy Tale]] fairly closely, with some exceptions: rather than being the more beautiful sister of two unpleasant siblings, Beauty is initially described as quite plain, and her sisters are both lovely and kind. Honour "Beauty" Huston is the third of four daughters born to a successful sea merchant; her mother, the Lady Marguerite, died giving birth to Beauty's little sister Mercy, who also died. Her two elder sisters are the impossibly beautiful and good-natured Grace and Hope. Though ironically nicknamed for being the plainest of the sisters, Beauty is an excellent student with dreams of possibly being able to attend university. Line 11: McKinley revisited the ''Beauty and the Beast'' story twenty years later with a new retelling, ''[[Rose Daughter]]''. {{tropelist}} ~~-----~~ ~~=== This work contains examples of the following tropes: ===~~ * [[All Girls Like Ponies]] * [[Animorphism]] Line 20 ⟶ 18: * [[Beautiful All Along]]: Handled subtly and well in the case of Beauty - convinced at an early age that she's homely, she avoids mirrors for most of her adolescence and is pleasantly surprised when she finally sees herself as a young adult. * [[The Blacksmith]]: Gervain * [[Blonde, Brunette, Redhead]]: As adults, Beauty and her sisters are this (in age order no less). Grace is blonde, Hope is brunette, and Beauty's hair is described as red-gold. * [[Brainy Brunette]]: Before her hair changes to red-gold as she grows older, Beauty is this. * [[Cool Horse]]: Greatheart * [[Curse]] * [[Curse Escape Clause]] * [[~~Daddys~~Daddy's Girl]]: It's noted repeatedly that although he dotes on all of his daughters, Beauty is her father's favorite. The older sisters deliberately encourage this to make up for Beauty's low self esteem. * [[Dead Guy, Junior]]: Beauty's niece is named Mercy, after her younger sister who died as an infant; her nephew is named Richard, after her brother-in-law's father. * [[Death Byby Childbirth]]: Beauty's mother. * [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: Many elements of this novel, including Beauty's horse and the Beast's magic mirror, are curiously echoed in [[Disney]]'s ''[[Beauty and ~~The Beast (Disney)\|Beauty and The~~the Beast]]''. It's unclear whether this is an odd coincidence or a deliberate callback. ** Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, a later paperback cover for the book gave Beauty brown hair and a yellow ballroom gown as a [[Shout -Out]]. * [[First Girl Wins\|First Guy Wins]]: {{spoiler\|Grace's beloved Robbie, believed lost at sea, returns by some miracle. Beauty discovers his life through a magic mirror belonging to the Beast, and with his permission rushes home to warn Grace so that she won't accept the marriage proposal of the village minister, who has been trying to court her.}} * [[Friend to All Living Things]]: Beauty has shades of this. Greatheart became her horse because she bottle-fed him when he was an orphaned baby, and she notes that as a general rule she's always been partial to horses. In the castle, she acquires a number of feathered friends when she turns the ledge of her bedroom window into a bird feeder. Line 43 ⟶ 41: * [[The Library of Babel]]: The Beast's library contains books which haven't been written yet. * [[The Lost Woods]]: A rare non-video game example. To find the Beast's castle, you only need to become lost in the woods; once you lose your way, all paths lead to the castle gates. It's because of the rumors of enchantment that Gervain makes the family promise not to go in there. * [[May -December Romance]]: Following his transformation back to his human state, the erstwhile Beast is physically about 20 years older than Beauty, owing to the 200 years he spent cursed. ** Beauty's mother and father were like this too - when they married, her father was 40 and her mother was just 17. * [[Meaningful Name]]: The girls' mother was kind of literal-minded about naming her children, who are called Grace, Hope, and Honour. The observant reader may pick up on the fact that all three of them live up to their names throughout the story. * [[Meaningful Rename]]/[[Ironic Nickname]]/[[Only Known Byby Their Nickname]]: Honour, when the meaning of her [[Meaningful Name]] is explained to her as a child, replies that she'd rather be "Beauty," and the moniker sticks quite thoroughly, although she's a late bloomer who considers herself homely compared to her sisters. * [[Missing Mom]]: Beauty's, thanks to [[Death Byby Childbirth]]. * [[Nephewism]]: Melinda, the sassy widowed innkeeper who tells Gervain about the blacksmith job that leads to the Hustons relocating, is his aunt. * [[No Name Given]]: The Beast. He even says at the end that he's been the Beast for so long, he's forgotten his real name. ** Also, the girls' father. The family surname of Huston is mentioned in the narrative, but his first name is never revealed. * [[Non -Human Sidekick]]: Greatheart * [[Old Retainer]]: The Beast's servants. * [[Pimped -Out Dress]]: Although Beauty resists it, much of the wardrobe provided for her in the castle fits this description. She also brings two such dresses home for Grace and Hope when the Beast lets her visit. * [[Plucky Girl]] * [[Psychic Powers]]: Beauty develops a minor form of clairvoyance during her time in the castle. Line 59 ⟶ 57: * [[Sacred Hospitality]] * [[Servile Snarker]] * [[She Is's All Grown Up]]: At the end, Beauty discovers that her appearance has improved dramatically, and she now has the same features she described as belonging to her mother. ** Although this ''could'' be partly attributed to the castle's magic, considering how Beauty's father is described as looking substantially better after his stay at the castle - who knows if some of that same magic rubbed off on Beauty during her long stay there? Then again, the Beast did say that Beauty matched her nickname well on her very first day at the castle... * [[Shout -Out]]: Mostly in the enchanted library, to everything from [[Sherlock Holmes]] to ''[[The Once and Future King]]''. * [[Talking in Your Dreams]] * [[Tomboy]] ** [[Tomboy and Girly Girl]]: Beauty as compared to her sisters. * [[Twice -Told Tale]] * [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]]: Ferdy, Gervain's apprentice, who had a terrible crush on Beauty throughout her teens (to her distinct discomfort). * [[The Voice]]: The two maidservants the Beast assigns to Beauty, who are invisible. She mostly hears them when she's falling asleep. Line 74 ⟶ 72: {{reflist}} {{Beauty and the Beast and other media}} [[Category:Fantasy Literature]] [[Category:Beauty: A Retelling Ofof the Story of Beauty ~~And~~and ~~The~~the Beast]] [[Category:~~Trope~~Beauty and the Beast]] [[Category:Works by Robin McKinley]]