The purpose of the fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast” was to help young girls accept arranged marriages.
The story of Beauty and the Beast was meant for girls who would likely have their marriages arranged. Beauty is traded by her impoverished father for safety and material wealth, and sent to live with a terrifying stranger. De Beaumont’s story emphasizes the nobility in Beauty’s act of self-sacrifice, while bracing readers…“for an alliance that required effacing their own desires and submitting to the will of a monster.”
