Resumen
Resumen de La bella y la bestia
Para quién es
For anyone who loves fairy tales with a moral, enchanted castles and stories of inner goodness, or wants the source of a story told many times on stage and screen.
De qué trata este libro
Beauty and the Beast is a French fairy tale written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont and printed in 1756 in a magazine for young readers. She was a French teacher living in England, and she cut down a much longer tale by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, published in 1740. Her short version is the one most people know today.
The tale follows a merchant's youngest daughter, who is kind, modest and fond of books. A rash promise sends her to live in the palace of a creature who frightens her. You get a clear, quick story about how to judge people, and about the difference between a pleasing face and a good heart. Let us begin with the merchant and his family.
En este resumen
- 1A merchant loses his fortuneFree
- 2A rose costs the merchant dearly
- 3Beauty goes to the Beast's palace
- 4What the tale says about goodness
Idea clave 1 de 4
A merchant loses his fortune
A rich merchant has six children, three sons and three daughters. He spends freely on their education and teachers, and he is proud of them. The youngest daughter is so lovely that, as a child, everyone calls her Beauty. The name stays with her as she grows up, and it makes her two elder sisters jealous.
Then the family's wealth is lost. The merchant must move his children to a small house in the country. The elder sisters are proud and refuse to accept their new life. They complain all day and expect to be waited on, as they once were.
Beauty does something different. She weeps for a short time, then gets up early, cleans the house, cooks and does the work. When the chores are done she reads, plays the harpsichord and sings. Her sisters mock her for being cheerful, but she is simply making the best of what has happened.
That’s 1 of 4 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Beauty
- Beauty is the merchant's kind, hardworking youngest daughter, whose modest wishes contrast with her elder sisters' demands.
- The Beast
- The Beast is the frightening but gentle master of a palace, who seeks Beauty's company and hopes to marry her.
- The merchant
- The merchant is Beauty's loving father, whose lost fortune brings hardship to his three sons and three daughters.
- The elder sisters
- The elder sisters are the merchant's proud daughters, who envy Beauty and resent their family's reduced circumstances.
- The brothers
- The brothers are the merchant's three sons, who want to protect their father and sister from the Beast.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 5,400 words
- Reading timeAbout 20 min
- Listening time35 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 11 other languages
Questions about La bella y la bestia
What is Beauty and the Beast about?
A merchant's youngest daughter, called Beauty, takes her father's place as a captive of a frightening Beast. Living in his castle, she learns that his kindness matters more than his appearance. It is a tale about character and choice.
Who wrote the original Beauty and the Beast?
The first version was written by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve in 1740. The shorter one that most people know was written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, who printed her shorter retelling in 1756.
Is Beauty and the Beast a true story?
No, it is a literary fairy tale, though it draws on older folk tales about marriages between humans and animals. Beaumont wrote her version in the eighteenth century to teach young readers about virtue.
What is the moral of Beauty and the Beast?
The tale teaches that inner goodness matters more than looks, wealth or wit. Beauty's willingness to see the Beast's kindness is set against her sisters' vanity and jealousy.
Is the original Beauty and the Beast hard to read?
No. Beaumont's version is short and plainly told, written for children. It has a clear plot and few characters, so it is easy to follow, and it can be read in a short sitting.