Sunday, April 16, 2017

Disney Princesses- Revisited!

Some of you may remember my first Disney Princess post from way back in 2012!!

As I've thought and explored and re-watched these movies... and new movies have come out, I feel the need to revisit this post, at least the part about Belle and Beast.

Remember what I said about Belle?
"Belle lived in his house. They talked, did stuff together. They shared interests and thoughts. They interacted."
Some have pointed out to me that because Belle was the Beast's "prisoner", there's indication of Stockholm Syndrome. And I agreed... for a while. With that limited information, yes it was... but it wasn't. There are nuances to true Stockholm syndrome that don't fit the story.

So I don't think it was really Stockholm:


Maybe Belle didn't have anything. Maybe Beast was the one "afflicted." Maybe he actually had Lima Syndrome, where the captor bends his will to the captive, when the captor is the one who changes and adopts the values and standards of the captive.

See, Belle maintained her standards, her values, and her strengths. She sassed him, defied him, and even left! By contrast, Beast provided her with her own room, directed those in his employ to attend to her needs, and she got really quite a lot of freedom around the estate- except for the one wing, she had free run of the place. That's exactly NOT Stockholm!

Ultimately, it was Beast who changed to adopt Belle's standards, expectations, and values. Despite his emotional immaturity, he developed compassion, personal strength of will, and even courage and selfless love. Belle wasn't stupid- she saw this growth, and her heart responded to this new-and-improved Beast.