Summary
Summary of Beauty and the Beast
Key ideas
Key idea 1
A good heart matters more
Beauty is a merchant's youngest daughter, kind, modest and fond of books. A rash promise sends her to the palace of a creature whose appearance frightens her. There, the difference between a pleasing face and a good heart becomes central to her story.
Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont shaped this fairy tale from a longer version by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve. Her telling places a question at the heart of Beauty's experience: how can she judge someone fairly when what she sees and how she is treated seem so different?
Key idea 2
Beauty meets loss with useful work
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Key idea 3
A rose brings a terrible demand
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Key idea 4
Fear gives way to growing affection
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Key idea 5
Kindness has weight when freely chosen
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Key idea 6
Actions reveal what appearances can hide
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
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.
What this book is
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.
In this summary
- 1A merchant loses his fortuneFree
- 2A rose costs the merchant dearly
- 3Beauty goes to the Beast's palace
- 4What the tale says about goodness
Key point 1 of 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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Check yourself
Why does the Beast threaten the merchant's life?
Right. “At once a terrible Beast appears, furious that the merchant has repaid his hospitality by stealing.”Not quite. “At once a terrible Beast appears, furious that the merchant has repaid his hospitality by stealing.”
How does the Beast treat Beauty at the palace?
Right. “He speaks with simple honesty, admits he is not clever, and treats her gently.”Not quite. “He speaks with simple honesty, admits he is not clever, and treats her gently.”
What does the tale suggest matters most in a partner?
Right. “Beaumont stresses that virtue, good sense and a kind character matter more in a partner than charm or rank.”Not quite. “Beaumont stresses that virtue, good sense and a kind character matter more in a partner than charm or rank.”
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 Beauty and the Beast
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.
