>>110179451the screenplay was written by Linda Woolverton, it was her idea to make Belle a bookworm like herself and said Gaston was based off this dude in college who creeped on her.
the ideal of Beast she presented isn't the devotion she shows by the end, its his capacity and willingness for growth actually being demonstrated.
Like, you see it phrased all the time this dismissal of feminine power fantasies as taking a powerful man and reprogramming him fronm the ground up, but when you compare these stories the common element you see is getting a guy with basic human decency and respect who wants the same kind of relationship you do
that so many start off as rude assholes is partially a concession that "all the good men are gay or taken" since guys who were raised to be good people tend to remain in longterm relationships longer than other guys, and partly for the slow-burn catharsis when the guy is no longer a selfish asshole, which is usually accompanied by some gesture to prove he won't immediately revert to being a selfish asshole again if she turns him down anyway
