Beauty and the Beast

What do you think of when you hear Beauty and the Beast? My guess is that you think of the classic Disney film of the same name. But have you ever thought about the countless other couples that could fit this trope?

Some similar examples include Kyle and Lindy from Beastly, and Rumpelstiltskin and Belle from Once Upon a Time. Ones you may not have thought of are Erik and Christine from Phantom of the Opera, Fiyero and Elphaba from Wicked, R and Julie from Warm Bodies, Edward and Kim from Edward Scissorhands, and many, many more.

My favorite unlikely pair from this trope is by far Grinch and Martha May from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. They stand out to me the most because of just how different they appear to be from one another at first glance. I think their relationship is so complex when you go beneath the surface. Martha, being the rich, upstanding, uptown girl who everyone seems to admire. And Grinch, being the scruffy, and misfit-runaway that almost everyone seems to fear. It was that fear that kept them away from each other, but a different fear. Some of what I have gathered may be purely theory, though it seems plausible to me. Like Grinch and Martha, it seems that most couples that fit this trope feel the need to hide something, whether it is their feelings, the one they love, or both. I feel like Martha is the most concerned with hiding her feelings due to fear. This fear is not towards Grinch, but rather Augustus. I believe she feels this fear because he tore Grinch away from her and has shown numerous times that he too has feelings for her, leading her to think exposing her true feelings could lead to catastrophe. Loving such a misfit and outcast seems completely out of the question. But when you really get down to it, Martha is a misfit herself. Though she is a grown woman, she has never “grown into her nose.” When she finally shows herself, the overall change in her presence is very heartwarming. She really shows that a beauty can love a beast.

Christine Baranski, who plays Martha, even mentioned that the couple embodies the trope in this interview.

This is my favorite couple dynamic because of the underlying message that it carries; No matter what you look like, there’s always someone out there for you and everyone deserves a chance.