In Angela Carter‘s feminist retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale, the heroine turns the tables on “La Bestia”. A beautiful girl’s father bets and loses her to the Beast in a card game. At the Beast’s castle the girl is asked to do something she considers shameful, in return for which she would be released undamaged and her father’s gambling losses returned. She feels a moment of power when her refusal hurts the Beast, but eventually makes a life-changing decision. Themes include gambling addiction and greed, objectification and the innate power of women, sexuality, shame, acceptance, transformation, liberation.
The Tiger’s Bride Text / PDF (7,750 words)
It is interesting to contemplate why the Beast wanted to see the girl naked, why he revealed his true form to her and why, once he had done so, the girl took off her clothes and visited him.
His request for her to remove her clothing is not in anticipation of sex, as he promises to return her to her father “undamaged”. Nor is it about voyeurism, as he wasn’t interested in her offer strip from the waist down. The fact that he doesn’t have human servants suggests that, despite his bluster and pretence of power when outside his palace, he is insecure with people. Having her strip away her outward displays of humanity (clothes) would put them on equal terms. Unfortunately, she misinterprets his intent as a request for sex. Her crude response (that he need pay her no more than a common prostitute) immediately puts her on the same level as other women and brings a tear to his eye.
Revealing his true form on the horse-ride exposes his vulnerability to her. Touched by this, she in turn exposes her breasts. When she sees her father’s reaction to the riches that resulted from this, she not only turns away from him, but also life in the outside world. To her surprise, when she strips and goes to give herself to the Beast, she finds that she is in the position of power. The powerful tiger cringes on seeing her naked, and she must coax it to her like a kitten.