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Angela Carter: The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories

"The Courtship of Mr. Lyon"
The major difference between this version and the Disney version is that we never find out why the Beast is sentenced to be a beast. One possible interpretation of this story is that there is something real that corresponds to each magical thing that occurs in the story, and the story distorts the real, so that we can see it and contemplate it. For example, Mr. Lyon can represent any young man coming of age who is facing what it means to be a man, in relation to a woman. Beauty is fascinated by the Beast, but at the same time is revolted by him. This feeling of unfamiliarity and revulsion between men and women is typical, as is viewing the opposite gender as "the other. When the Beast is "tamed,"each gender is tamed, in one way or another. Thus, Perhaps Carter is saying that men find their own violent potential horrifying as well.For example, when the Beast reveals his revolting nature to Beauty, she is overcome with disgust but is able to come to terms with masculine violence.