My four-year-old daughter goes through phases, but one that has stuck around a lot has been her desire to be “Belle,” and, if you really want to know the truth, I’m A-OK with this.
Belle is my favorite Disney princess, no doubt about it. Perhaps it’s her brown hair, or feeling like an outsider in her small town, or maybe it’s her voracious appetite for books. I know I shouldn’t be envious of a fictional character, but let’s be real. That library? That is the stuff of a bibliophile’s dreams. And lately, I’ve come to the realization, as far as fictional characters go, Belle is one I would love my daughter to aspire to be. Why?
She’s kind. To everyone.
I mean, yeah, she gets frustrated at them, but she’s genuinely kind to everyone, even when Gaston makes advances. She’s firm, kind, and expresses what she feels. When she meets the Beast, she chooses to be kind to him. It’s as though she sees him as a person, and not as a beast. (Caveat: Belle seems to the people in her village are provincial and it’s implied she thinks she’s better than they are, and that isn’t something I’m wanting my daughter to be. Seeing people as people is great, but I don’t want her to think she’s better, because no one is really better than another, but that’s another blog, another day.)
She’s always learning.
She loves reading and books so much that in both Disney versions of the tale, she’s read all the books available to her. She’s constantly reading, sometimes as an escape, sometimes to learn. She loves books.
She doesn’t *need* a man to be who she is.
I think one of the most appealing aspects to me is Belle’s confidence in who she is. She’s been empowered by choosing kindness and continuous learning. She turns down Gaston, even though he basically thinks she’ll never marry if not to him. She doesn’t need a relationship to be herself. When the Beast enters the picture, it’s understood that a friendship forms first, likely from being misfits in their community. She never sets out to fall in love with him, and he doesn’t “complete” her. She’s secure in her identity, and she lives in it. In the 2017 Disney film, she even goes on to empower other people, much to the villagers’ chagrin. Empowered women empower women, and I hope my daughter learns this.
She sacrifices herself for those she loves.
Initially, she sacrifices herself for her dad who was imprisoned in the Beast’s dungeon. Later, she comes back and attempts to sacrifice herself for the Beast. She’s selfless, and that reminds me of something Jesus once told his disciples… “No greater love has a man than this, that he’d lay his life down for his friends.”
As my daughter continues to grow, I pray that she is secure in who she is and Whose she is, and I like that she’s looking to Belle to spark her imagination.
In Him, Karen
Comentarios