Beauty and the Beast: Another Example of Men's Fears

When we were studying Little Red Riding Hood, we discussed that the story could show men's fear of their own sexuality or their fear of a woman's rejection of their sexuality. I believe that some of these sexual issues and acceptance issues can be seen in "Beauty and the Beast" as well. First, the main male character in BATB starts out as a Beast. He is big, ugly, and scary to women. In the beginning of the tale, he seems mean and hateful, since he tells the father that he'll have to send one of his daughters to die in his place if he wants to live. The Beast knows that no woman will accept him as he is. He must trick a woman into coming to live at his place. He really did not seem to have the desire to kill Beauty when she got there--he just wanted a woman to live with him. This portrayal of the Beast could point to the same deep-seated fear in men that the beast has. They are afraid that they won't be attractive to women. They are afraid that they are too big and gruff and unrefined to "get" a woman. They may also fear that their own sexuality is too "beastly" or animalistic for a woman. They hope that a woman will accept them as they are, just as Beauty eventually accepted Beast, even while he was still ugly.
Also, notice that in most of the Beauty and the Beast tales the Beast has plenty of money. The castle or house is big and richly decorated. The food is good and plentiful, and he seems to spare no expense for the comfort of his guests. This makes me think of what a guy in our class said about the Bluebeard story; that the women were after his wealth. In the BATB tales, would the women have accepted him if he was dirt poor and they had to live in a bare hut? Perhaps this points to another fear men have--that women are attracted to the man's wealth and that if you don't have money, you probably won't get a woman. Come to think of it, in many fairy tales, the man who gets a woman in the end is wealthy. Cinderella doesn't fall in love with a good looking plow boy...she gets the wealthiest guy in the land! Snow White and Sleeping Beauty both get handsome and wealthy princes. Poor guys! We often think that fairy tales objectify women but look at how the winning men are portrayed. You have to be very handsome and rich to get a beautiful girl. No wonder men are afraid that women will not accept them or their sexuality. They may be afraid that they won't live up to the standards set up by fairy tales. Very interesting.