If the village hadn't stormed the castle, do you think Belle would have come back? And similarly, do you think she would have left in the first place if her father wasn't in such immediate danger?
Hi Anon. I do think Belle would have returned to the castle, especially based on her emphatic remark, āOf course I came back. Iāll never leave you again.āĀ Given enough time apart, Belle probably would have missed being with the Beast. Before they met, she carried this deep need to go on adventures, to learn more about her mother, and āto have someone understandāā¦understand her.Ā He gave her all those things and more. He gave her freedom before he even set her free.Ā The issue is whether or not Belle would have made it back in time to break the curse. Thankfully we never have to find out, because the mob accelerates the timeline! Ā Ā
While I donāt think Belle would have run away from the castle again, I like to hope that Beast would have eventually let Belle go anyway. The only way Beast can demonstrate to Belle how much he loves her is by setting her free.Ā It might have taken a few more days or weeksāor perhaps occurred that very same night regardlessābut at some point, he would have recognized how much Belle misses her father. (Maurice is the reason they meet; so to bringĀ the story into closure, Maurice also has to be the reason they part. The exchange of āYou set me free, but I want to stayā needs to happen. As Belle declares, she canāt really be happy if she isnāt free, and Beast wants her to be happy.Ā Belle needs a reason to choose to be with him on her own.)
Even that same night, had Maurice been just fine, what might have transpired?Ā
In the mirror, Belle watches her father all alone in their cottage, making another music box, this one playing a more solemn version of āHow Does a Moment Last Forever.ā She studies him with gentle longing, bittersweet tears filling her eyes. After some time, as agonizing as it is, Belle hands the Beast back the mirror, shaking a little.Ā āThank you,ā she whispers. As they return to their separate wings, he notices that she carries herself a little more solemnly, a little less certain, a little less like the Belle he knows and loves. He can see the life being stolen out of her the longer sheās trapped here. This becomes a nightly ritual for them, as much as reading by the lake has become a daily pastime. They dance, and then Beast lets her borrow the mirror for a few minutesāuntil her sorrow becomes too much for him to bear. Until she either asks or he offers to let her go, to see her father just one last time in person. She uses the enchanted book to return home, only home doesnāt feel quite like the home she remembers. The cottage feels almost as empty as that dusty attic in Paris. As much as her heart soars being with her father again, her heart also flutters with a yearningĀ to return home to him.Ā
Anywayā¦Ā The benefit of life and death situations is that they stir up feelings faster. I see the events surrounding Maurice and the mob invasion as catalysts that propel Belle and Beast into action. While Belle would have realized she loves him eventually, it might not have been in time to break the curse.Ā