Fetishes come in a variety of forms, but they are not always objects. Instead, a fetish could simply be a representation of what a person desires in the world. In Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont's "Beauty and the Beast," the Beast has a profound love for roses. In the story, Beast is angered by Beauty's father when he insults his hospitality saying, "I have saved your life…and you repay me by stealing my roses which I love more than anything in the world," (De Beaumont 35). In Western culture, the rose is one of many symbols of love, and is used by males to entice women into loving them or simply showing their affection. Although it is pleasing to the eyes and the nose, the rose can also be a hazard to handle because of its thorns. Love itself can be seen like a rose because although it is beautiful, it can also be painful if it is not handled properly. According to Sigmund Freud, the fetish is meant to, "substitute…for a particular and quite special penis that…had…been lost," (Freud 842). Beast is portrayed as this physically ugly person that no one would ever love. As a result, the rose can be seen as a representation of the one thing that is denied to him because of his curse. This is why when Beauty arrives, he treats her just like the roses he cherishes, but like the rose, Beauty herself has thorns of her own.
When Beauty arrives to the castle to sacrifice herself for her father's life, Beast is enamored with her for her kind nature, and, of course, her beauty. He tends to her needs and does everything that he can to make her happy. But Beast always, "…before leaving, always asked her if she wanted to be his wife, and he seemed deeply wounded when she refused," (De Beaumont 39). Beauty, despite being well mannered and kind, refuses to marry Beast when he asks, but he always asks the question regardless. Freud explains this seemingly masochistic fetish saying that, "…it should have been given up, but the fetish is precisely designed to preserve it from extinction," (Freud 842). In reference to the fetish, this could be a part of Beast's subconscious love of roses. Like the rose, Beauty is a lovely person, but does not like to feel imposed upon. As a result, she if forced to refuse Beast's offer of marriage, even though it hurts her as well. Throughout this constant exchange of offering and refusing, evidence of psychosis can also be seen in Beast's behavior.
According to Freud, fetishes are theoretically connected to both psychosis and neurosis, depending on the nature of the fetish itself. In Freud's words, a neurosis is, "…the ego, in the service of reality, suppresses a piece of the id, whereas in a psychosis it lets itself be induced by the id to detach itself from a piece of reality," (Freud 844). Following this explanation given by Freud, Beast's behavior can be classified as a psychosis. His need for companionship is a result of the id, and he constantly asks Beauty to marry him whenever he can. But after a time refusing, Beauty simply tells him that they can only be friends. However, even though she makes her position clear, he cannot bring himself to let her go saying, "I will have to…I don't flatter myself…but I love you very much," (De Beaumont 39). Despite the pain that he feels from Beauty's statement, the love that he has for her is much too strong for him to just simply dismiss because it is tied into his fetish. The fetish cannot be given up because of the desire to preserve it, which is why when Beauty is gone to visit her family longer than she promised, Beast attempts to kill himself.
Freud described the fetish as a "special penis" that is meant to replace the penis of the mother. He also describes in detail the way that such fetishes are protected by those that develop them because of the fear of castration. He mentions that, "…no male human being is spared the fright of castration at the sight of the female genital," (Freud 843). The idea the Freud presents is that upon seeing a female's genitals, which are not visible, the male develops the fear of losing his own. In "Beauty and the Beast," Beauty's desire to visit her family for a short time causes mixed feelings to arise in his heart. Though it grieves him to send her back, he states, "I would rather die myself than cause you pain…I will send you back to your father. Stay there and your poor beast will die of grief," (De Beaumont 39). Beauty's happiness is like the roses that Beast cares for. He does not want to see Beauty sad, or in pain, so he sends her back and she promises to return at the end of a week. She does not return until later, and this causes Beast to starve himself. The fear of castration that Freud brought up is embodied in Beast's actions. He had lost his "penis," and he does not know how to live without, so he chooses to die rather than live on.
In the story of "Beauty and the Beast," we see many of Freud's theories on fetishism come into view. The Beast, because of his fetish for roses, falls in love with Beauty who is every bit like his favorite flower. Her kindly but prickly nature reminds Beast of roses, and she quickly becomes the embodiment of his fetish. Like anyone who has a fetish, it is very difficult for him to live without it, and he centers his behavior on it as well. Fortunately for him, his fetish is a healthy one, and at the end, his desire becomes a reality.
Works Cited
Freud, Sigmund. "Fetishism." The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism 2nd Edition. Ed. Vincent B. Leitch. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2010. pgs. 841-845. Print.
De Beaumont, Jeanne-Marie Le Prince. "Beauty and the Beast." The Classic Fairy Tales: A Norton Critical Edition. Ed. Maria Tartar. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1999. pgs. 32-42. Print.
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