Belle: Profile
Name: Belle
Age: unknown (18?)
Princess by: Marriage
Place of Residence: French village (17th? 18th? Century)
Belle is one of the greatest characters ever created by Disney, or by any other animation medium, in my opinion. She is unlike any other animation character, and especially unlike any other female heroine. What makes Belle special is a combination of things, from her individual personality to her attitudes and feelings towards others, all of this combines to make her a great and beautiful character.
When we first meet Belle, she is leaving her small home and heading towards the Bookshop, where she is going to leave the book that she borrowed the day before. In a few minutes, during the song "Belle", we learn a lot about Belle. We learn about her feelings towards the townspeople and the feelings the townspeople have about her. She is seen as a beautiful person, but people see her as odd, particularly because she is always reading books. Because of this, she doesn't fit in with the other townspeople. Belle herself has grown a bit bored with life in the village. Everything is pretty much always the same, and she dreams of more, of adventure such as the adventure her books contain.
Perhaps the only person, besides her father of course, in the village that Belle gets along with is the Bookseller. He does not question and is not bothered by Belle's love for books. In fact, he gives her the book that is her favorite, which shows he does not think there is anything wrong with Belle's love for reading.
As the song "Belle" continues and Belle heads back home, we see that indeed there are many people in the village who think she is very pretty, including the huntsman of the town, Gaston. Gaston is set on marrying Belle, because she is the most beautiful in the town, and this means he definitely deserves her, according to him. During this scene, however, we see that looks and hunting ability are not enough to win Belle over. This is another way in which Belle differs from many of the other townspeople: while the townspeople admire and some even swoon over Gaston, Belle is simply annoyed by him.
When Belle returns home, we begin to see just how much she cares about her father. She believes in him, knows he is a genius, and believes in his work with all her heart. We can also see that she seems to be his encouragement at times when he gets discouraged. Belle also seems to help him and understand him more than the townspeople ever could.
After Maurice heads off to the fair (and finds the Castle instead), we return to Belle, who is reading comfortably at her home when she is annoyed by the appearance of Gaston at her doorstep. His plan is to ask her to marry him, for which he has already has a ceremony prepared outside. Belle retreats from Gaston's advances, and pretends to be flattered, but makes him go back outside. After he leaves, she goes to her backyard and talks to the chickens about how Gaston had the nerve to ask her to marry him. She is definitely annoyed, as we can see by her facial gestures and her mocking of him. Again, she has made it clear that she does not want anything with Gaston, something she asserted with Maurice when she admitted that yes, Gaston was handsome, but that he was also "rude and conceited and...not for me." Belle is unhappy with her life and wants adventure, and she is not willing to stay her whole life in the village as the wife of Gaston. Gaston's looks are not enough to win her over, and we can see that she does not have the type of heart that gives in easily to vanity.
When Philippe returns without Maurice and takes Belle to the Castle, she finds her father and we are again able to see that Maurice is very important to Belle and she loves him very much. She loves him enough to trade her freedom, hopes, and dreams for him. When she does so, we are also shown another side of Belle. Although she is frightened by Beast, she is strong and brave. She bargains with him and asks for him to step into the light. And when he takes her father so quickly, she tells him that he didn't even let her say good-bye, showing that not even fear of Beast can make her forget she will never see her father, the one person she loves.
Her bravery, and perhaps some stubbornness (although it is stubbornness that is completely understandable), is shown again when she refuses to dine with Beast. But it is evident that the reason why she does not want to dine with him is not because he is a Beast or because she fears him, it is because she has lost everything because of him, because she traded her freedom which he had taken from her father. Her bravery also comes out when she finally ventures out of her room.
At the same time, while she is in her room and when she ventures out of it, we see that Belle, while she is surprised that the objects in the Castle are animate, she is not mean to them or afraid of them. The surprise wears off and is overcome with her worry of having lost her freedom. The objects in the Castle are immediately kind to her and like her right away, although Cogsworth is a bit nervous about giving her something to eat, but that is because he is afraid of what Beast will do if he finds out.
When Belle's bravery comes through yet again, and in large part her curiosity, she ventures into the forbidden West Wing and almost touches the Beast's Enchanted Rose. She leaves the Castle after he orderes her to get out, breaking her promise (although it is understandable) and rushes away with Philippe. Her courage comes out again when she falls off Philippe when he becomes tangled and attacks the wolves with a stick. Thankfully Beast arrives to rescue her.
Back at the Castle, although it was somewhat Belle's fault for venturing into the forbidden West Wing, she manages to leave Beast speechless and somewhat control his temper. Belle is also aware that without him, she would not be there, and thanks him for saving her life. We see that Belle is even kinder than we imagined, and she acknowledges Beast's aid and is not afraid as she helps him with his wounds.
During her stay at the Castle, Belle never once tries to leave, showing that she honors promises and perhaps even appreciates that Beast let her father go and let her stay in his place. She is no longer afraid of Beast, and begins to find that he is not so bad after all. I love the scene where he gives her his library and she looks at him doubtfully, but closes her eyes finally. She trusts him. And in the Something There sequence, she realizes that he is trying so hard to eat politely, and must feel touched, because she picks up her bowl and toasts, and begins to eat in a way that they can both eat the same. She also does not grow fear outside, and places her hand upon him freely and without thought, like they are good friends. She is touched by his kindness, and wonders why she didn't see it there before. It is at this point, behind the tree, that she begins to realize that not only is she realizing that Beast is kind and good, but that she is admitting to herself that she feels something more, something stronger.
During the 'Beauty and the Beast' song, it is now really clear that Belle is the one who is least shy and most comfortable. While Beast is being very shy, Belle rushes to him so they can go dance, and places his hand upon her waist to begin. She has grown extremely comfortable with Beast, and leans her head on his chest. Now we can really see that Belle has put any fear or doubt behind her a long time ago, and is now very comfortable and is probably on her way to fully accepting her love for Beast.
It is at this point that Belle remembers her father, and, seeing him in the Magic Mirror, Beast lets her return to him. But before she leaves, Belle returns to place a hand to his face. For that small moment when she returns, we can see that she doesn't want to leave, but she has to leave. We can see the pain she is going through in having to leave, but she must, for her father.
When Belle and her father return home, she explains to him that Beast is different now, changed. She defends her father as Gaston arrives with Monsieur D'Arque to try to take him away, and brings the Magic Mirror as proof. But, she also defends Beast, saying she is kind and gentle, in such a way that Gaston notices that Belle has feelings for Beast. It is at this point that Belle says what she feels about Gaston, no more being sarcastic or beating around the bush: "He's no monster, Gaston. You are!" She realizes that Gaston is a monster, and is not afraid to say so, is not afraid of him anymore and doesn't feel that she needs to pretend to be flattered. She is heartbroken that they are going to Beast's Castle, but thankfully they are soon on their way with Chip's help.
When she reaches the foot of the Castle, she screams up to Gaston to leave Beast alone, to not hurt him. When she arrives at the tower, she holds out a hand for Beast, and lets him hold her face. She is happy with Beast, and is almost reaching the point to where she can admit to him that she loves him. She was afraid of what might happen, out of fear of losing him. When she almost does, she tells him not to leave her, that she loves him. She admits what she has probably known since she lived with him in the Castle, but is now extremely afraid of being left alone with him gone, alone and misunderstood, whereas the Beast was the one person she could talk to and wanted to share her life with (besides her father of course). When Beast comes back as the Prince, she does not rush to him because she is not sure what happened. She does not immediately embrace him, showing that yes, she fell in love with Beast, in his Beast form, and needs to be sure it is really him. When she is sure, of course, we all know what happens after that. But this moment's hesitation shows that Belle knew she fell in love with Beast, and knew that only with him could she be happy, and so she just had to make sure it was him.
And of course, they live happily ever after, Belle having found her dreams of adventure and love, but having found these dreams not easily, but through struggle and pain, and with the help of her bravery and her good heart that helped her to see past, helped her to see more than other people could. This is what makes Belle so special, and so deserving of her happy ending.