The Gospel According to Beauty AND the Beast:
A Story of Transformation
Copyright 2017 by Mary Scifres
All rights reserved.
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Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
This publication has not been prepared, authorized, licensed, or endorsed by The Walt Disney Company.
Cover design by Michael Beu and Clara Lee
DEDICATION
To the beauty that resides within every one of us.
PREFACE
Once upon a time. . . . These four short words transport us into a magical land of make believe—a land filled with monsters and heroes, a land of social conformity and epic adventure, a land of hatred and redemptive love. These four short words let us know we are entering a story filled with life and truth, hope and possibility. For in fairy tales, the power of myth emerges, connecting us to ancient truths and elements of the human story that haven’t changed since the dawn of time.
Fairy tales have called to me since I was a tiny girl. Their beautiful pictures and magical words continue to mesmerize, inspire, and comfort me today. Even as a child, I knew I would one day fill pages of my own with words. As I became a teenager, fairy tales called to me each Sunday evening as I watched The Wonderful World of Disney with my family. As I entered my young adult years, fairy tales called to me through Walt Disney’s animated classics and the new stories that came to the screen during the Disney Renaissance of the 1990s. And when our son Michael was born in 1997, fairy tales called to me in a whole new way. Watching his young face light up with joy and hope, seeing his eyes sparkle with dreams and imagination, and hearing his laughter and singing erase the pain of a terrible day at school, only deepened my love for this genre, both in books and on the silver screen.
My love for Disney films grew once more as I recognized that our son is a lover of film in the way that I am a lover of books. The prophet Kahlil Gibran teaches that we can give our children our love, but not our thoughts.[1] I recognized that I could give Michael my love of story, but not my love of books. While Michael enjoyed listening to stories as he cuddled in my lap, their magic came alive for him when we watched them on screen. Disney and Pixar films were staples in our household, and Michael can still recite lines and songs verbatim from his favorites: The Little Mermaid, Monsters Inc, and, of course, Beauty and the Beast. For my husband B. J. and me, our favorite film has long been Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and so our young son grew up watching it over and over. I would sing Belle and Mrs. Potts, and he would sing Gaston and Beast, both of us singing the villagers’ parts. When he fell in love for the first time, Michael and his girlfriend repeated the pattern: she singing Belle or Ariel or Anna, he singing Beast or Sebastian or Hans and Olaf.
True magic, like true love, lasts a lifetime and only deepens with the passing years. So it was that I discovered this magic in new and surprising ways while attending a 25th anniversary screening of Beauty and the Beast at Disney’s El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. Perhaps it was because I was yearning for higher wisdom during a troubled election season. Perhaps it was because I was seeking comfort as an empty nester during my son’s freshman year of college. Perhaps it was because I was caught up in the creative energy of like-minded Disney fans who had come to enjoy this classic film while anticipating the soon to be released live action version. Perhaps it was because I was just more attuned to the higher mythological themes that this classic story offers. For whatever reason, as I watched the film, I saw before my eyes a gospel story—a story of good news, a story of self-giving love and life-giving transformation, a story of resurrection and life.
Seeing Belle yearn to discern her call and her father persist in pursuing his dreams; observing Gaston succumb to his narcissistic pursuit of power and popularity and Beast struggle to discover his higher self, I beheld the people of the gospels—people on the journey of self-discovery and transformation. I saw people yearning for relationship—sometimes living into that yearning with love and virtue, other times living into that yearning with selfishness and vice. In the film’s story, I recognized the deep yearning for transformation that calls to each one of us. As I watched the transformative power of love change the characters in the story, I wondered just how many lives have been changed by this transformative power since the dawning of time.
In the glorious setting of El Capitan, I saw in Beauty and the Beast a reflection of the gospels’ portrayal of a man from Nazareth who encountered the best and the worst of human nature, who lived the ancient story of good versus evil to his death and beyond, and who effected personal and communal transformation. In that seeing, the idea for this book emerged. And so, I began to write. As the book grew and developed, as books do, this book has taken on a life of its own. Books are like children; we may conceive them, but they grow in their own right at their own pace into their own creative beings. As this book grew beyond the womb of my first ideas, it became clear that the lessons of Beauty and the Beast, like the lessons of the gospels, extend beyond the world of Christianity. These lessons help us explore life truths, question previous assumptions, and glimpse paths toward transformation. In the pages of this book, I offer glimpses of these paths, as I wander through the stories of Belle, Beast, Maurice, Gaston, the villagers, and the castle servants. Most of the book has been inspired by the 1991 animated classic, but it is enhanced and expanded by the recent 2017 live action rendition of the story.
In my musing, I invite you to enjoy your own explorations of meaning and purpose, as you reflect on these stories and re-watch the films. As you read these pages, you will discover your own insights and find your own truths within the story. Like all good stories, the stories of the gospels along with the stories of Beauty and the Beast are never really finished—as the stories continue to roll around in our imaginations and the ideas continue to flow through our thoughts, inviting new wisdom, encouraging new hope, and inspiring new journeys toward transformation. That is my hope for this book. That is my hope for you. That is my hope for all who watch these wonderful films and read the transformative stories of the gospels. And so I give you The Gospel According to Beauty and the Beast: A Story of Transformation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Writing a book is its own transformational journey. On this adventurous and sometimes painful journey, the transformative power of community has helped me reach my destination, and I have many people to thank. First and foremost, I wish to thank my beloved soul mate, husband, best friend, and amazing editor, B. J. Beu. For the countless hours you shared discussing my insights and ideas, for always believing in me and pushing me to be my best, and for the numerous rereads, revisions, and re-writes, I am truly grateful. For our son Michael Beu, who worked tirelessly to help create the cover art and responded time and again to each new request I brought while juggling a busy first year of college, I offer my thanks! This has truly been a family project, and I am indebted to my extended family of parents and sib
lings for cheering us on along the way.
It takes a village to complete a book, and many friends and colleagues deserve special credit for their part in bringing this book to its final form. To Karen Clark Ristine, who helped with numerous copy edits, shared valuable insights, and always offered an encouraging word, I bestow my humble thanks. I am honored to have the insight of my visionary friend Clara Lee, who read pages, helped with cover art, and always reminded me “You’ve got this!” For my Marketing Assistant, Andrew Ponder Williams, who cheered me on as we brainstormed how best to get this book into your hands and hearts, I extend joy for our collaboration. Thank you! For those who have laughed and rejoiced with me in this process, who have supported and loved me with your prayers and presence, and who have constantly reminded me to believe that my words and my gifts can inspire and help change the world for the better, thank you! Your belief means more than you will ever know.
And I am especially grateful to you, dear reader, for entering my world. Thank you for celebrating the gifts of these timeless tales, and exploring the lessons they teach. Here’s to your personal journeys of transformation. Here’s to your journeys of communal transformation. And here’s to the world’s journey of transformation. May we one day all look back and say, “And they all lived happily ever after!”
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
1. TRANSFORMATION: THE HEART OF THE STORY
Foundational Stories
The Need for Transformation
The Transformative Power of Love
How Can One Love a Beast?
Transformation’s Inner Journey
A Complicated Journey
The Wisdom of God, Not the World, Leads to Transformation
Transformation’s Ebb and Flow
Hope Overcomes Fear
One Transformation Leads to Another
Friendship Contains Its Own Magic
Who We Put First Changes Everything
Seeing with New Eyes
The Magic of True Love Is Not Found in a Kiss
Stories of Transformation Invite Us In
2. THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF PERSPECTIVE
Awaken to a New Perspective
The Image of God Within
Was the Prince Truly a Beast?
Who We Are Created to Be
Nobody’s Perfect
A Perspective of Wholeness
Lack of Hospitality and Welcome: A Truly Beastly Perspective
Dreams: A Sacred Perspective
Creativity and Imagination: A Holy Invention
Curiosity and Wonder Lead the Way
Openness to Mystery, Wonder, and Beauty
Let Your Light Shine
Beauty Lies Within
Sacred Beauty Is All Around
3. THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF PERCEPTION
Opening Our Minds to New Possibilities
Perception’s Dual Role
Perception Determines Our Direction
It Is Only with the Heart that One Can See Rightly
When Judgment Becomes Judgmental
Perception Changes Everything
The Power of Perceiving Possibilities
The Strange Path to Redemption
Gratitude Opens Doors to Expanded Perceptions
Transformative Dreams: This or Something Better
The Transformative Power of Story
Just a Little Change
Perceiving Love
The Power of Love
4. THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF SELF-GIVING LOVE
The Hero’s Journey: A Journey of Service
Love Is Beautiful to Behold
Unexpected Moments
The Greatest Love: Powerful and Empowering
Seeds of Transformation
Transforming a Beast into a Hero
Drawn to the Light
Strange Magic
Light Calls to the Darkness
Light Wins
Eros Is Not Enough
An Unexpected Twist
Becoming Who We Truly Are
Inner Transformation Carries a Pain All Its Own
We Don’t Need an Enchantress to Be Cursed
Serving Out of Duty
Expanding in Service of Love
No Longer Servants, but Friends
Perfect Love Drives Out Fear
Finding Our Courage—Finding Our Purpose
When Fear Leads Us Astray
The Final Sacrifice
Transformation: A Resurrection Story
5. THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF COMMUNITY
Not Just One Hero
Communities in Need of Transformation
Bringing Community to the Forefront
The Link Between Personal and Communal Transformation
The Gift of Community: Seeing Potential
Two Are Better than One
When Communities Receive Our Gifts, Everyone Grows
Creating Life-Giving Transformation
To Grow or Not to Grow
Growing Beyond the Borders
Different from the Rest
Rejecting Old Roles to Make Room for the New
Finding New Communities along the Way
Finding a Community that Embraces Transformation
We Grow What We Feed
Don’t Be Deceived by Appearances
The Beauty of Transformational Communities
A Community Love Story
6. THE JOURNEY TOWARD TRANSFORMATION
The Ground of Transformation
Life has Lessons to Teach
Love and Misfortune Contain Seeds of Transformation
The Universe Pulls Us Forward
Tools of Transformation
Tool 1: Choice
Tool 2: An Open Mind
Tool 3: Awareness
Tool 4: Hope
Tool 5: Self-Giving Love
Tool 6: Gratitude
Tool 7: Friendship
Tool 8: A Spirit-Guide
Keep Moving Forward
The Adventure Is Just Beginning
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ENDNOTES
PROLOGUE
Walt Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is first and foremost a story of transformation, which is fitting, since the story itself has undergone countless transformations over the centuries. While Disney borrowed heavily from the well-known 18th century French fairy tale, “La Belle et le Bête” by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont for the 1991 film, the 2017 live-action version remains closest to the original.
Both Disney adaptations of Beauty and the Beast begin with a prologue, narrating a tragic story of a selfish young prince who answers the door on a stormy night to find a haggard, old woman offering a single rose in exchange for shelter for the night. Sneering at the gift, the prince dismisses the old woman, even though she warns the boy not to be “deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within.”[2] When the prince dismisses her a second time, the old woman’s unsightly appearance fades away, revealing a beautiful enchantress where the old crone had been. Despite the prince’s repeated apologies, the enchantress perceives a young man with no love in his heart. And so, she casts a spell on the young prince, along with his castle and all its inhabitants, leaving him with a magical rose and an ominous warning: Unless he can learn to love and earn another’s love before the rose’s last petal falls, the prince will be condemned to live as a beast forever, and the castle servants will, in turn, remain magical household objects, never to return to their human form. If, however, the prince learns to love and finds love in return, the curse will be broken.
With only a few petals remaining on the rose, our story begins. In a darling French village, our would-be princess, Belle, strolls from her father’s cottage th
rough the streets of her town, singing of her provincial town and of her dreams of a larger life, as her neighbors sing of this strange, but beautiful girl in their midst. The village heartthrob, Gaston, interrupts Belle’s song of longing to remind her that he is the handsome man who can make her dreams come true; Belle skirts his advances and returns to her father Maurice, who is an eccentric inventor in the 1991 animated classic, and a melancholy artisan in the 2017 live-action version. Soon, Maurice hitches up his horse, Philippe, to a wagon and is on his way out of town with his handiwork, as Belle continues to sing of her dreams and hopes for a larger, more creative future.
Maurice, however, gets lost in the woods and is chased by wolves to the gates of an enchanted castle where he encounters Beast, never imagining that this beastly master of the castle is actually a handsome prince in disguise. Beast casts Maurice into a tower prison cell, while Philippe returns home alone. Seeing the horse without wagon and rider, Belle knows her father is in distress, and asks Philippe to help her find him. Upon arriving at the dark castle, Belle hesitantly enters the main hall to search for her father. When she finds him imprisoned, frightened, cold, and alone, Belle is determined to rescue him. Even when she meets the hideous Beast, Belle demands her father’s release and then offers herself in exchange for his freedom. With this act of self-sacrifice, a very different story emerges.
Beast sends Maurice home without a backward glance, demanding in return that Belle remain as his prisoner forever. Eager to break the spell on the castle, Beast’s servants convince him to house Belle in a beautiful castle suite and encourage him to treat her as an honored guest. Beast’s temper and temperament do not respond well to Belle’s sullenness and resistance to his overtures to join him for dinner, and soon the two are at odds, Beast going so far as refusing her food unless she dines with him. Beast further forbids Belle from visiting the West Wing where his rose is sheltered in his personal chambers. Later on that first evening, however, the inquisitive Belle enjoys an enchanted, musical dinner and a castle tour, hosted by Cogsworth the steward-turned-mantle-clock along with Lumiere the maître d’-turned-candelabra, and Mrs. Potts the housekeeper-turned-teakettle. The ever-inquisitive Belle sneaks away from her hosts to explore the forbidden West Wing, where she again inflames Beast’s anger and in turn runs away from the castle.