Just a random thought on Belle and Gaston...

[Buzz Rules]

Just a random thought on Belle and Gaston. I was talking with a friend (we both love history) about the War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and how that is the war that fictional Gaston fought in for France. According to Disney, Gaston saved the villiage (Villeneuve, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is the supposedly legendary real town described in the tale's original versions) in 1740 from Portuguese mercenaries at age 16 and then enlisted in the war and came back to the villiage 12 years later (the war ended after 8 years, so he was traveling around Europe for 4 years before returning home with LeFou). So it's 1752 when the movie starts and Belle hasn't seen Gaston in 12 years and they both make prejudgements about each other and the story as we know it happens and basically the end. So the random thought we had was if Belle had also joined the war in 1740 as a camp follower in the French Royal Army, would her opinion of Gaston have been completely different given that she maybe would have seen the world differently and maybe be more understanding to what Gaston went through and his pessimistic attitude on things such as literacy? I guess part of the discussion was that Belle wanted more than a "provincial life" and if she actually experienced the war first hand, rather than just being secluded away from it in the villiage for those 8 years, would it have completely have changed her views in some way and therefore change the story as a whole? Do you think her personality would have changed and would have become less adventurous and more empathetic towards Gaston (given that they both would have experienced the war first hand, granted in different ways)? This is just a completely out of the blue thought but I thought the discussion would be an interesting thread and what your thoughts would be given this AU what if scenario. Sorry for a random weird thread but sometimes a late night chat turns into a deep long conversation that makes you think for a minute about classic Disney movies.

 

[Karin1984]

Going by this, Belle was somewhere between 5 and 9 years old in 1840. A young girl, without a mother among the camp followers. Even if we go with that Maurice was there to use his skills to fix weapons or whatever, she probably wasn't supervised all the time. I would say Belle getting abused by one or multiple soldiers, one or multiple times, in those 8 years is very likely. Judging by Gaston's creepy line about widows in the movie, maybe he was one of them.

And yes, that is going to change her personality completely.

Hard work and bad food for 8 years are not good for your looks. The best food available probably went to the officers, then the soldiers, then the other men, women and children last. So she probably doesn't come out of the war being a beauty.

Maybe she would be more empathetic towards Gaston. If he would ever consider her worthy enough to talk to her.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Going by this, Belle was somewhere between 5 and 9 years old in 1840. A young girl, without a mother among the camp followers. Even if we go with that Maurice was there to use his skills to fix weapons or whatever, she probably wasn't supervised all the time. I would say Belle getting abused by one or multiple soldiers, one or multiple times, in those 8 years is very likely. Judging by Gaston's creepy line about widows in the movie, maybe he was one of them.

And yes, that is going to change her personality completely.

Hard work and bad food for 8 years are not good for your looks. The best food available probably went to the officers, then the soldiers, then the other men, women and children last. So she probably doesn't come out of the war being a beauty.

Maybe she would be more empathetic towards Gaston. If he would ever consider her worthy enough to talk to her.

I honestly don't think he would have abused her or would have been a creep. His character was seen as an excellent soldier and of good conduct. Most of what you are saying would have gotten him court martialed and thrown out of the army. Abusing a kid could very well mean prison or death by hanging, even in colonial times. Belle had noble blood in her according to the 2017 movie, so I think she would have a little more respect and would have been protected more. She would have been cleaning clothes, washing dishes, and assisting in cooking. I believe the military camps separated both the men and the women/children. Why wouldn't Gaston talk to her later in life though? Anyway, thanks for responding to the thread. I always like hearing your input about Gaston and Belle.

I guess part of my question is that would the war experience have made her think in a more traditional way for the time period instead of her modern feminism we see in the movie?

 

[lovesmurfs]

Here's someone who agrees Gaston isn't THAT bad...

https://www.onstageblog.com/columns...n-a-different-perspective-on-beauty-the-beast

 

[BrianL]

One note is that I don't think Belle would have known Gaston previously becuase she and her father didn't live in that town. They were relative newcomers I believe.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Here's someone who agrees Gaston isn't THAT bad...

https://www.onstageblog.com/columns...n-a-different-perspective-on-beauty-the-beast

And makes some valid points as well.

One note is that I don't think Belle would have known Gaston previously becuase she and her father didn't live in that town. They were relative newcomers I believe.

Belle's family is of a merchant/lower nobility status originally from Paris. The plague that Disney describes Belle's mom dying from took place in real life in 1720 but Belle wasn't born until 1735 (got to love Disney's changing historical events for storytelling). Maurice takes baby Belle to the villiage to escape the plague (moving to the countryside was seen as a safe way to do this). So Belle's formative years are in the villiage and she would have probably known Gaston to a point growing up given the size of an 18th century villiage. Also as a side note, I think Gaston also suffered from PTSD given how bloody and brutal (and not to mention unnecessary) that particular war was. French soldiers didn't really get much support when then returned unless they carried noble/royal blood. In the original movie, Gaston's character was going to be a noble like in the original fairy tale.

 

[Mysterian]

If you like history, you should look into the real life origins of Beauty and the Beast. Meet Catherine and Pedro. Despite the wooly appearance, he was favored by royals for his condition (hypertrichosis), and was well-educated. His story wasn't exactly like the fairy-tale, but it's believed the paintings of him and his family were inspiration.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Any new thoughts?

 

[Buzz Rules]

If you like history, you should look into the real life origins of Beauty and the Beast. Meet Catherine and Pedro. Despite the wooly appearance, he was favored by royals for his condition (hypertrichosis), and was well-educated. His story wasn't exactly like the fairy-tale, but it's believed the paintings of him and his family were inspiration.

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(Warning for horror/gruesome cartoon depictions).