Belle from Beauty and the Beast is a Pragmatic Romantic
In the big Broadway musical introduction for Beauty and the Beast, there's a part where Belle sits at the fountain, giving a little highlight reel of one of her favorite books to the sheep nearby. She draws very particular attention to a meet cute scene between the protagonist and 'Prince Charming.' It doesn't matter how many times Belle has revisited this particular scene and knows exactly how things play out. She gets the kind of warm-fuzzies shipping fiends do when they watch curated scene packs of every time their favorite couple interacts on screen.
Belle does enjoy the Prince Charming fantasy to some degree. That adds an extra dimension to why exactly Gaston is so disgusting and unpleasant. Many people have discussed this: He's one of the earliest deconstructions of the classic ruggedly handsome, charming, epitome of masculine Disney heroes. This is debatable, but Disney princes up until or during The Little Mermaid or the Disney Renaissance featured some quality of the dashing, chivalrous prince that gives his princess a hand up.
He's the vehicle towards upward mobility, status, freedom, etc. I want to be careful with drawing too many generalizations since I would argue there's a feminist slant on just about every Disney princess. It's not necessarily "the princess needs a man or to be rescued." It's more that these movies were produced and written at a time when men were still some part of a woman's financial considerations and livelihood. The love interest felt more like a necessary or foregone conclusion rather than something sweet and organic.
Gaston is a clever satire of a Disney prince since even though a character like Cinderella can be seen as a feminist figure for her time, her prince was also good by default and highly desirable. Of course the princess wants the prince, right? There's never really a debate or skepticism towards the idea of any other outcome; just variants on how it plays out. Gaston perceives himself as the man everyone wants to be and lusts after. He assumes that includes Belle, the most beautiful girl in their small, humble village. He's grossly insecure, a paragon of toxic masculinity. He's entitled to Belle just because he's the 'fairy tale prince' of the village.
Unfortunately, Gaston is still the strongest commentary on those classic Disney princes too. Rather than the Wreck-It Ralph flanderized princesses speaking to the caricature of a Disney prince, Gaston challenges the existing archetype and satirizes the existing parts, pieces, and themes.
So, getting back to Belle is a romantic. When Gaston forcibly proposes to her, it kicks off her "I want" number. She longs to leave the village, discover what the wider world looks like and if that world is better than what she can currently only find in books. She has a very rose-tinted glasses and idealistic view of a grand, sprawling adventure if she could just leave the village. To her credit, though, Belle is very good at rolling with the punches. Even when her idealistic vision isn't realized, she does find means to appreciate her current situation or surroundings, readjust as she needs to, and find something new or even better than what she hoped for.
When Belle initially meets the Beast, he comes across as yet another aggressive, dominating man. Rebuffing Gaston had immediate social consequences from village gossip, a reputation hit, or whatever strings Gaston could pull as the local darling. She tried to dance around him with hints and softball rejection. Gaston's approach was using his influence, physical presence, and being pushy. In stark contrast here, the Beast is nothing but force and fear tactics. There's no village or social niceties. This is a man that throws his weight around and he's the only one that will back himself up.
Every time he tries to cow or intimidate Belle, she pushes back and stands her ground. She may be a prisoner, but she will not submit or be coerced by force. She runs away after the Beast crosses one boundary too far. After the Beast rescues Belle from the wolves, they're on much better footing than before because the Beast backs off and listens when Belle criticizes his behavior.
He shows an honest, earnest effort to acknowledge her needs, wants, and comfort. This is the key difference between Beast and Gaston: the Beast lives up to her expectations of someone that will listen, can be reasoned with, and wants a genuine connection rather than some fleeting, imagined vision of what she obviously isn't and has no interest in being. Following the scene where she cleans and dresses his wounds, she's visibly happier and comfortable openly wandering the grounds. She was trying to hide and sneak around before. The fact she's confident about exploring-even with the Beast watching from where she knows he could see or call out to her-speaks volumes about how much more she likes and trusts him.
When the Beast nervously works up the nerve to show her a surprise, she's a bit skeptic when he tells her to close her eyes. But she does. And she leans in, puckers her lips, anticipating a kiss. This is shortly before their getting-to-know-you montage and duet! Belle is still at a point where she's trying to work out how she feels about the Beast, but she's open to a romantic gesture here. She even gives him a few seconds delay, giving him time to find the right position, atmosphere, whatever. Her body language and opening go unnoticed. He's so delightfully oblivious, focused on making sure she doesn't try to peek. They're on such different wavelengths. Belle is more experienced in social graces and apparently, romance where the Beast is wonderfully dense.
I didn't clock the nuances of this exchange before, but now? She already likes him so it's that much more meaningful when he shows her the library. He's doing more than the bare minimum of a suitor. He already had a shot, but leans more towards the move that builds intimacy, connection, and friendship. He deliberately picked a gift that reflects her interests and what is special to her.
Then there's a line in their duet number that references Belle's comments about the 'Prince Charming' in her book. She might have been hoping for a suave, collected prince but she honestly finds the Beast charming in his own way. When he lets down his guard, the Beast is awkward, but kind, sweet, thoughtful, and playful. Her adventure has more twists and turns than her books. If Gaston is the immediate, real parallel to Prince Charming, then the Beast is the unexpected, better than any fantasy outcome.
In a nutshell, Belle tows the line between her own realized character and a fantastic romance protagonist. If anyone wants some kind of return to or resurgence of the Disney romance, Beauty and the Beast is a fantastic template for what something between the classic tale and something distinctive and meaningful could look like! Gaston as the villain strengthens the themes here, so yes, a return to realized Disney villains could help prop up fantastic romances too.
