Loving looks vs. marriage

One difference that I noticed between de Beaumont’s version and Cocteau’s film was act which was required for the Beast to turn into a handsome prince. In Cocteau’s film, someone must give the Beast a loving look for him to transform. This is interesting because the Beast tells Beauty not to look him in the eye when she firs enters the castle. On the other hand, in de Beaumont’s tale, which reminds me a lot of the Disney movie, someone must promise the Beast their hand in marriage for him to transform. When I researched the dates of these two pieces, I found that Beaumont’s version had to be written sometime in the 1700s, while the film came out in 1946. I may be over-analyzing this, but perhaps the change in the story reflects changing beliefs of the times. Like Shavit’s argument that fairy tales reflect the concept of childhood, I would like to suggest that perhaps fairy tales also can reflect the status of marriage in a culture.