(no subject)
"Beauty and the Beast", by Rita Dove, can best be understood as an epilogue to a seemingly endless fairy tale. Dove address's issues of a feminist nature, serving to clarify the realities of life as a woman under the jurisdiction of men. The context of the poem is set in the later years of the marriage between Beauty and the Beast, supposing that the magical aspects of the original story have worn off completely, leaving Beauty to find herself in a somewhat compromising position. Although, Beauty does express a sense of duty throughout the poem, which is questionable considering her warning to other women. There is a central theme of domination in the poem, what is lacking is an alternative to this domination, an instance of provoked thought that Beauty neglects to conjure. She merely states the obvious nature of men by testifying to the submission of women, going as far as to declare, what she interprets as three, rather diabolical characteristics of men that inevitably consume women, feasting on their vulnerabilites.
The first weakness that Dove attributes to women is their disposition, which she calls "The expected". The phrase, "The expected", can be interpreted as an act of compliance. Dove is implying that women conform to the lifestyle that men assign them, unquestioningly and without regards to their own happiness. There are a lot of aspects that contribute to this condition, however. One is that the honor of a woman's family depends upon her conformity. Another is the importance of the honor of the family to the head of the family, the Father. Through this poem, it is made clear that the interest of the Father is not so much in the happiness of his daughter but in the apparent success of completing the dynamic society has decreed correct and honourable. "The expected" can be best understood as a sense of duty.
"child legs, pale from a life of petticoats? My father would not have had it otherwise"
In this stanza, it is made clear that Dove is having Beauty testify to her obligations as a daughter. It is interesting to note that Beauty herself makes no inquisition into the nature of her fathers orders, and yet warns her sisters to be aware of their own vulnerabilities. Under this rationale, women attest to the torment of men and yet do nothing but victimize themselves. They appear to have a sense of what is happening to them, but likewise they appear to lack the sense to understand it. This is the result of cultural conditioning and positive reinforcement on the part of women themselves, not of men. It is comparable to that of Middle Eastern culture, in the sense that there is a national expectency on the part of women to behave as women and to obey men. Although, the women of Middle Eastern culture practice positive reinforcement and teach their female children to behave in the same way, in fact, the more behaved and conservative one is the more respected. Both cultures present a paradox, that the individual member of the family reflects the family as a whole. Thus, when the individual member of the family experiences "success", ie; marriage, the entire family is alotted a sense of glory. Dove illustrates this paradox in the stanza;
"...when he trudged the road home with our souvenirs."
The second weakness that Dove attributes to women is their sense of attraction, which she calls "The handsome". Dove illustrates her point by having Beauty express endearment;
"You are so handsome it eats my heart away..."
This is perhaps the most fatal flaw in the biological structure of the female form. Universally, women seem to embody a certain succubus like need for lust and excitement, that is only found in what they find to be irresistibly attractive. Universally, women that have fallen victim to lust negate all negative aspects
of the gorgeous person they have endeared, and are somehow "swooned" by a sense of beauty in the male form. What can be understood from this is that women operate on a very primal, if not animal like, level. It is ironic that in the original, De Beaumont version of "Beauty and the Beast", Beauty is unconcerned with the Beast as a physical person and is in love with him on an idealistic level, surpassing all anti-feminist stereotypes transcending her character into virtuosity. In Dove's aftermath, Beauty finally falls for the physical aspects of Beast, negating his personality completely, somewhat expressing a sense of anguish that accompanies her lust. This is comparable to the "considerably older man/young blonde woman" dynamic. At first, the young woman is clearly in it for the money, but then a certain psychological attachment develops, and upon their death, despite their newfound riches, they experience remorse. It is a shamless act for women of any disposition of any cultural background or of any integrity whatsoever to simply appreciate a man because he looks a certain way. This is yet another aspect of the female condition that serves as self-destructive.
Dove's third weakness is "the one who needs us". All women are subject to dependency of some sort, and with some women, the case is so extreme that when someone else appears to be in need they feel as though they have a responsibility to help them. This probably stems from the fact that women give birth and men do not, which is why it is less likely to have an overly-dependent male than a female. In giving birth, they experience the ultimate state of dependency, whereupon the life of their child rests in their hands solely at all times, and as a result of that, a prolific attachment is formed. This attachment can be mimiced, between a man and a woman, especially if the woman seizes the opportunity to take care of the man completely. Dove has Beauty warn her sisters of this, because Beauty herself submited to the dependency of her father, whom she cannot be independent of. She also submitted to the will of Beast, who claims an attachment to her, to whom she has endeared due to the fact that he needs her to lift a curse. This can be very empowering for a woman, feeling as though without her structure would not hold.
"...they are standing before their clouded mirrors."
Beauty's warning to her sisters indicates that she posessess wisdom, although she herself failed to utilize it in her own life. She accuses them of living in obscurity, possibly lying to themselves, but still offers no alternative for them to seek. The all too common predicament of women is that they are able to see through the injustice that suffers them. Unable to find a way to defend themselves from the tyranny of men, perhaps women who attest to be taken by the beauty of men, have, in actuality, admitted defeat.
The first weakness that Dove attributes to women is their disposition, which she calls "The expected". The phrase, "The expected", can be interpreted as an act of compliance. Dove is implying that women conform to the lifestyle that men assign them, unquestioningly and without regards to their own happiness. There are a lot of aspects that contribute to this condition, however. One is that the honor of a woman's family depends upon her conformity. Another is the importance of the honor of the family to the head of the family, the Father. Through this poem, it is made clear that the interest of the Father is not so much in the happiness of his daughter but in the apparent success of completing the dynamic society has decreed correct and honourable. "The expected" can be best understood as a sense of duty.
"child legs, pale from a life of petticoats? My father would not have had it otherwise"
In this stanza, it is made clear that Dove is having Beauty testify to her obligations as a daughter. It is interesting to note that Beauty herself makes no inquisition into the nature of her fathers orders, and yet warns her sisters to be aware of their own vulnerabilities. Under this rationale, women attest to the torment of men and yet do nothing but victimize themselves. They appear to have a sense of what is happening to them, but likewise they appear to lack the sense to understand it. This is the result of cultural conditioning and positive reinforcement on the part of women themselves, not of men. It is comparable to that of Middle Eastern culture, in the sense that there is a national expectency on the part of women to behave as women and to obey men. Although, the women of Middle Eastern culture practice positive reinforcement and teach their female children to behave in the same way, in fact, the more behaved and conservative one is the more respected. Both cultures present a paradox, that the individual member of the family reflects the family as a whole. Thus, when the individual member of the family experiences "success", ie; marriage, the entire family is alotted a sense of glory. Dove illustrates this paradox in the stanza;
"...when he trudged the road home with our souvenirs."
The second weakness that Dove attributes to women is their sense of attraction, which she calls "The handsome". Dove illustrates her point by having Beauty express endearment;
"You are so handsome it eats my heart away..."
This is perhaps the most fatal flaw in the biological structure of the female form. Universally, women seem to embody a certain succubus like need for lust and excitement, that is only found in what they find to be irresistibly attractive. Universally, women that have fallen victim to lust negate all negative aspects
of the gorgeous person they have endeared, and are somehow "swooned" by a sense of beauty in the male form. What can be understood from this is that women operate on a very primal, if not animal like, level. It is ironic that in the original, De Beaumont version of "Beauty and the Beast", Beauty is unconcerned with the Beast as a physical person and is in love with him on an idealistic level, surpassing all anti-feminist stereotypes transcending her character into virtuosity. In Dove's aftermath, Beauty finally falls for the physical aspects of Beast, negating his personality completely, somewhat expressing a sense of anguish that accompanies her lust. This is comparable to the "considerably older man/young blonde woman" dynamic. At first, the young woman is clearly in it for the money, but then a certain psychological attachment develops, and upon their death, despite their newfound riches, they experience remorse. It is a shamless act for women of any disposition of any cultural background or of any integrity whatsoever to simply appreciate a man because he looks a certain way. This is yet another aspect of the female condition that serves as self-destructive.
Dove's third weakness is "the one who needs us". All women are subject to dependency of some sort, and with some women, the case is so extreme that when someone else appears to be in need they feel as though they have a responsibility to help them. This probably stems from the fact that women give birth and men do not, which is why it is less likely to have an overly-dependent male than a female. In giving birth, they experience the ultimate state of dependency, whereupon the life of their child rests in their hands solely at all times, and as a result of that, a prolific attachment is formed. This attachment can be mimiced, between a man and a woman, especially if the woman seizes the opportunity to take care of the man completely. Dove has Beauty warn her sisters of this, because Beauty herself submited to the dependency of her father, whom she cannot be independent of. She also submitted to the will of Beast, who claims an attachment to her, to whom she has endeared due to the fact that he needs her to lift a curse. This can be very empowering for a woman, feeling as though without her structure would not hold.
"...they are standing before their clouded mirrors."
Beauty's warning to her sisters indicates that she posessess wisdom, although she herself failed to utilize it in her own life. She accuses them of living in obscurity, possibly lying to themselves, but still offers no alternative for them to seek. The all too common predicament of women is that they are able to see through the injustice that suffers them. Unable to find a way to defend themselves from the tyranny of men, perhaps women who attest to be taken by the beauty of men, have, in actuality, admitted defeat.