Stockholm Syndrome?

With the release of this new Beauty and the Beast movie, there has been a lot of attention on not only the new movie, but also the original. I swear, I have seen so many memes, videos, articles, etc. about the original Disney animated movie. So many conflicting views, so many arguments, so many nit-picks. I see them every time I get online. What is really bothering me is that people are tearing it apart in an effort to justify the new movie. Why? Why do we need to pull down either movie? 1) The new movie has not even been released yet, so why are we hating it before even seeing it? 2) The old movie was not perfect (though in my opinion, it was pretty close), but it was still really, really good. Why do we have to fault it in order to justify the new one?

Anyways, I am here to address an argument/issue that I consistently hear in reference to original story: Belle has Stockholm Syndrome. 

Now, I can see why people would think this because Stockholm Syndrome by definition is “the psychological tendency of a hostage to bond with, identify with, or sympathize with his or her captor” (Merriam-Webster). By that simplistic definition, that does sound like Belle’s situation. She is held as a prisoner and then she falls in love with her captor. However, there is more to it than that. I am going to list out the reasons why Belle contradicts the symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome.

To understand why Belle does not exhibit the symptoms, we must first understand the syndrome. Stockholm Syndrome is a defense mechanism, a “complex reaction” (Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine) put on by the brain in order to protect itself from any potentially harmful feelings or situations. 

SYMPTOMS OF THE SYNDROME (according to the Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine):

1) “The crisis situation lasts for several days or longer.”

 This is true in Belle’s case, but there are some problems with the other symptoms and requirements.

2) “The hostage takers remain in contact with the hostages; that is, the hostages are not placed in a separate room.”

This obviously does not happen in Beauty and the Beast. Belle is given her own room and is free to wander about the castle as she wishes (except for the West Wing). She also interacts with more people other than the Beast. His servants wait on her and she is treated kindly. She is given the title of “prisoner”, but is hardly treated as such. The point is that she does not FEEL like she is in harm’s way, which leads me to the next symptom.

3) “A self-preservation instinct on the part of the prisoner.” (Layton)

People who feel helpless in any life threatening situations are willing to do anything to survive. In the case of Stockholm Syndrome, it is the prisoner’s belief that he/she cannot escape which means that their survival depends on the “all-powerful captor” (Layton). 

Belle is doing more than simply surviving. She is an outcast in her town who yearns for a life of adventure: “ I want much more than this provincial life!/ I want adventure in the great wide somewhere/ I want it more than I can tell/ And for once it might be grand/ to have someone understand/ I want so much more than they’ve got planned” (“Belle (Reprise)”). Some people might interpret this as her being pompous and looking down on the town, but this is not the case. She simply wants to escape the townspeople who are always sneering at her for educating herself and not being married. She is simply an outcast.

She is actually a very strong person who volunteers herself in her father’s place when he is captured by the Beast. Once she is there, she DOES want to survive, but instead of believing she is helpless and submitting to her situation, she constantly pushes back and attempts to leave. In fact she does so, twice.

The first time is when she runs away when the Beast erupts at her for coming into the West Wing. However, she returns after he rescues her from the wolves and almost dies in the process. This is because his actions suddenly changed Belle’s perception of him.

Originally, she saw him as a terrifying monster who could hurt, maybe even kill her during his tantrums (which was why she ran when he exploded at her in the West Wing). However, now she saw that he actually did not want to see her hurt or put in harm’s way. So, even though she did not want to go back to the castle at that time, she also did not want to leave the Beast to die in the forest after he had saved her life. She does have a conscience after all.

The second time she leaves is when the Beast actually releases her. After she leaves, she talks about how “kind and gentle” the Beast is, but does not express any plans of returning; that is, until Gaston begins to rouse the townspeople to go and kill the Beast. She cannot stand by and watch the kind, intelligent, caring person who let her go get killed. 

Therefore, Belle does go back to the castle of her own free will, but not because she suffers from a mental disorder where she sympathizes with her captor, but because she desires to protect the passive Beast and his servants who were kind to her from the malicious townspeople. 

4) “The hostage takers show some kindness toward the hostages or at least refrain from harming them.”

In a captor/captive situation, the tiniest glimpse of compassion (even the lack of abuse) can be perceived as extreme kindness in the case of Stockholm Syndrome. 

While the Beast does actually make an effort to be nice, Belle constantly tells him off: (“Will you come down to dinner?” “No!” “It would give me great pleasure if you would join me for dinner... please.” “NO THANK YOU!”) She pushes back and actively argues and disagrees with him. She even openly and knowingly disobeys his one rule of not entering the West Wing. This shows that she is doing more than simply surviving; she is making an effort to enjoy herself and satisfy her wants/needs/desires.

But, Belle does still stay at the castle for an undisclosed amount of time and does “fall in love” with the Beast while he is her captor. Does she eventually succumb to Stockholm Syndrome after the wolf attack when she stops defying him and pushing back? I say no!

Stockholm Syndrome is related to an abusive relationship where the victim consistently returns to their abuser with the mindset, “I know what he/she did to me, but I still love them. He/she didn’t mean it.” However, there is one key difference between these relationships; Stockholm Syndrome occurs without the victim realizing it whereas “love” is a conscious occurrence (Carver).

In Beauty and the Beast, Belle is fully aware of her changing feelings for the Beast when she returns to the castle after the wolf attack. She puzzles over and evaluates them in the song “Something There”: “New and a bit alarming/Who’d have ever thought that this could be?”

So this could be leaning more towards an abusive relationship rather than Stockholm Syndrome. However, if any of the previous evidence has shown, this is certainly not the case. Belle’s positive feelings towards the Beast do not begin until he first changes his behavior. Her constant negative responses towards him causes the Beast to reevaluate himself. After he controls his temper, stops being selfish, learns compassion, and starts to genuinely be nice to her, does Belle actually begin to care for him.

The two of them connect on a deeper level than simple civility. Belle was an outcast in her town because she read, was not married, and questioned their way of life; while the Beast was an outcast 

because of his monstrous appearance. Meanwhile, Gaston is praised because he is good-looking, brutish, and the epitome of a “manly man”. The townspeople reject both Belle and the Beast because they do not live up to the social norm and they practically worship Gaston even though he is a selfish, condescending bully who goes as far as murder to get what he wants. They rationalize his actions because it fits with their perception of “social norm” even though neither Belle nor the Beast have done anything to them. They attempt to destroy both their lives simply because they do not understand them. It is for this reason that Belle and the Beast bond together. They are two rejected people who accept the reasons why others reject them and fall in love.

Beauty and the Beast is a story of looking past the outer appearance and seeing what is on the inside. It is not a story of a woman succumbing to the will of her captor. It is a classic and beautiful story, a “tale as old as time” if you will, full of beautiful messages that is much deeper than people give it credit for.

Works Cited

Carver, Joseph M. "Love and Stockholm Syndrome: The Mystery of Loving an Abuser." Joseph M. Carver, Ph. D. MyEvent.com, 2015.

Layton, Julia. "What Causes Stockholm Syndrome?" How Stuff Works- Health Mental Disorders. How Stuff Works, 2017.

"Stockholm Syndrome." Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. 2008. The Gale Group, Inc.

"Stockholm Syndrome." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, 2017.