the tiger's bride by angela carter

a great adaptation of the fairy tale 'beauty and the beast.' i could imagine in my head the creatures, things and the places the author described in great detail. that's one of the great assets of the story. the description is really able to sustain the attention of the reader throughout the literary journey, so to speak. although it was supposed to be a horror story, it did not scare me. i just found it rather bizarre why the beast wanted to see the girl naked. and in order to fully understand this part of the story, i think it necessary to delve more into the personality of the beast. in the original story, the beast, before he became one, was actually a handsome prince. and being rich, part of the royal family, and wanted by practically every female in his kingdom, he probably was surrounded by beauty. until this curse had befallen him. i think when he became a beast and retreated to a place full of weird and ghastly creatures, he was sort of forced to part with beauty or things that were beautiful. i think he missed beauty. and when he finally did have something beautiful, like the girl, he wanted to revel in her beauty. to look at her body so fresh and red, like a fine fruit picked during springtime. but why did he want beauty to see him naked should she refuse to show her undressed body to him? maybe he said it so she would all the more comply with his request? haha i am making assumptions here.

i also like the girl in the story. she was portrayed very strongly. i think she was fiercely independent but caring. she truly cared for her father and she did not seem to show any sign of blatant protestation when he sort of gave her away to the beast. that was very admirable of her. but at the same time, very irritating. i mean, why the hell would you allow yourself to pay for something you didn't do? it would have been okay if it involved a very important issue, one that's a matter of life and death. but no, it was just gambling all along! and i like the way the girl showed defiance. she stayed at the beast's house even when she could already join her father. i think that was her way of telling him "you don't deserve me." so.. go girl! haha