[ SECRET POST #4274 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4274 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 33 secrets from Secret Submission Post #612.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 2 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[osidiano]

Yes, the canon, in this case, is either version of the movies, since I highly doubt any of us are all that familiar with the original French story, and that's what we're talking about in this secret and these threads. My argument isn't "if it was abuse, why did she stay;" my question is "does Belle's decision to stay really mean that she has an altered sense of reality wherein she has come to sympathize with her captor and no longer views her imprisonment negatively" and "is this really a fuck-or-die scenario?" That's a pretty big difference, and it's kind of patronizing for you to be all "oh you young problematic thing you" instead of, you know, actually engaging that point in the discussion.

I'm aware that the psychological phenomenon and the case study are different (though clearly similar, since y'know, the phenomenon is named for that case). I just don't think that Belle's case has enough similarities to either of them to be meaningful. I also think that invoking them in literary analysis ignores the Beast's character arc, because it implies that Belle changes her behavior towards him independent to how he changes over the course of the story.

Also, the story generally doesn't present Belle as a hostage. It treats her more like an additional member of the house staff, and everyone gets to deal with his sulking or temper tantrums at various periods in the story. Plus everyone, the Beast included, are all stuck in the castle thanks to the curse; everyone is technically a prisoner.

But you brought up that Belle's agency is marred because she is forced to make a choice, and that doesn't actually fit into your easy rape analogy (especially since Belle and the Beast aren't a thing until after the power dynamic is evened out and she isn't scared of him anymore). Is every female character's agency (in decisions unrelated to sex) void when they have a family member at stake? Because that seems like BS, given how often we put a loved one's life in one of the scales for the sake of plot convenience.