Belle puts the Beast's needs and desires ahead of her own as a means of survival in a society where her freedom to choose has been taken. This is both a very sexist view of romance and marriage and an extreme case of Stockholm syndrome.
Belle's story is a tense psychological drama, following her struggle with schizophrenia while using her hallucinations as a lens through which we can examine our own ambivalence towards class conflict.
We witness multiple instances of Rapunzel grappling with her Stockholm Syndrome throughout her experience, including the conflicting emotions she vocalizes after first escaping, and even after she discovers how smart and strong she can be from her and Flynn's misadventures.
Belle begs the Beast to let her father go. When he does not relent, she offers to become the Beast's prisoner in exchange for her father's freedom. The Beast accepts her offer and has Maurice escorted out before Belle can say goodbye.
The Beast doesn't kidnap Belle. She agrees to stay at the castle in exchange for her father's freedom. The Disney version even does better than the original fairy-tale in this respect, since she, not the Beast, is the one who proposes the exchange in the first place.
Does Belle from Beauty and The Beast Have Stockholm Syndrome?
Is Belle a victim of Stockholm Syndrome?
The original Beauty of Beauty and the Beast did suffer from Stockholm syndrome. She developed feelings for the Beast under duress, alone and unsupported, rather than through genuine connection. However, as the story has been altered for modern audiences, elements of Stockholm syndrome have all but vanished.
Being humble, kind, and caring are inner qualities that result in the love between Belle and Beast and allows Beast to regain his human form and marries Belle.
It's ok to get angry—it's an emotion we all experience—but when a person lashes out physically or verbally because of their anger that is abusive behavior. In the Beast's case, he tries to intimidate Belle into submission by threatening to withhold food.
Before "Me" in the Broadway version begins, Gaston mentions to the Silly Girls that their "rendezvouses" will continue after he marries Belle, suggesting that he would be unfaithful and that he is an adulterer. He is the first Disney villain to conspire to commit adultery, at least in a Disney musical.
In this case, I think the diagnosis of Avoidant Personality Disorder is a better fit for her than BPD since she doesn't really seem to have intense, chaotic relationships. On the contrary, Elsa seems to lack close relationships almost entirely!
Elsa (Idina Menzel) demonstrates traits of paranoid personality disorder. She is definitely guarded and suspicious. She is so scared her powers will hurt someone again that she closes herself off. Also, she does not want to strike others with “fear”; Elsa wants to be accepted, not chased away.
Yes, this is liberating. But is it healthy? In Part I of the Frozen series, I suggested that Elsa experiences something like borderline personality disorder (BPD). In this interpretation, Elsa's frozen rages are an outward display of the emotional dysregulation she feels inside.
Rapunzel: Rapunzel has signs of Stockholm Syndrome, a syndrome in which a hostage starts to feel sympathy for their captor. Mother Gothel has kept Rapunzel imprisoned to a tower for the majority of her life, and the two have become close.
Gaston pursues Belle, determined to marry her, as she is the most beautiful girl in the village and thus the only one good enough for him. He also finds her independence to be a thrilling challenge, and shows disdain for the Bimbettes who constantly fawn over him purely because of his appearance.
Although multiple sources have claimed over the years that the character is 17, Henn estimated Belle to be in her early 20's. In an interview for Vanity Fair, Paige O'Hara stated to believe that Belle was the only Disney princess to be in her 20's.
Gaston was Belle's greatest enemy. He wanted to marry her by any means necessary just because she was the most beautiful girl he laid eyes on. However, Belle strongly disliked Gaston for his snobbish, arrogant, and narcissistic personality and was the only girl in the village to not be infatuated with Gaston.
Why does Belle look different in Beauty and the Beast?
Belle's early look in "Beauty and the Beast" was considered too glamorous to be relatable. In "Disney Princess: Beyond the Tiara," voice actor Paige O'Hara compared early concept art to Angelina Jolie. Belle was described as looking "a little too perfect." Animators changed her appearance, accordingly.
Disney's interpretation of the Beast made him more constantly angry and depressed, due to the shame from his unkind actions which led to his transformation, and particularly his struggle of reconciling his hideous appearance with his inner humanity which made him feel hopeless about breaking the curse.
In the Disney movie, the rose symbolizes how much time the Beast has left to break the spell. However, in the original tale, the rose is actually what gets Belle into trouble in the first place. In Villeneuve's story, Belle asks her merchant father to bring her back a rose from his business trip.
Though the Beast's official age is not mentioned in the movie, it is strongly indicated by the narrator's statement that the rose "would bloom until his 21st year." As the rose has already begun to wilt by the time Belle arrives at the castle, it is very likely that the Beast is 20 years (i.e. on their 21st year) of ...
