Some mention that the Beast is superficially ugly but internally beautiful and that Avenant is the exact opposite. I didn't really see Avenant as a jerk, just stubborn about his love for a woman. Can someone explain to me otherwise?
shareHe sucker punched his friend, slapped a woman, stole, broke and entered, and planned on attempting murder. Swell guy, eh?
shareHe struck me as shallow and a leech. I think he was supposed to be the complete contrast to the Beast; that was the point of him turning to a beast in the end. He was a beast on the inside and handsome on the outside, while Le Bete is ugly on the outside and handsome on the inside.
shareExactly....
shareWell, he's complex. Certainly he's not the nicest, most considerate guy in the world, but neither does he seem overtly villainous. The Prince's line at the end about how love can make a beast of a man would seem to apply best. Notice how the Beast is fearsome and dangerous but surprisingly passive, almost meek around Belle, compared with Avenant's (too) aggressive approach. The transformation of Avenant into the Beast as he dies and the Beast becoming a similar (but distinctly different) man aftward suggests that the Prince may be a kind of composite of the better elements of both characters, while their combined worse natures are done away with. I guess no one man could possibly be good enough for Belle, but two might do the trick.
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Now that I read more posts, (after marrying Belle) he's DOES seem kind of like the husband who sits on the couch all day long watching football and yelling, "Bring me a beer, WOMAN!!!!"
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Well, from a modern woman's perspective, I'd say Avenant is a bit of a jerk.
In my opinion, the one thing that distinguishes Avenant from the Beast is that the Beast trusts Belle and respects her freedom to choose.
True, he does use manipulation to get her to come, keeps her there, and the way he tells her that he'll die if she doesn't come back does look like emotional blackmail...
But the beast trusts Belle entirely, and leaves the choice to her. She can let him die and become rich, or come back.
In the same way, although he is very insistent and asks her every day, the Beast does not force Belle to marry him.
Avenant, on the contrary, has no respect whatsoever for Belle's opinion. He claims to love her, but he despises her choice to stay with her father instead of marrying him. He even tries to force her to kiss him. And later on, he wants to kill the Beast because he is either blind to, or jealous of the fact that Belle loves the Beast.
So yeah in my opinion, you can definitely say that the Beast is more beautiful inside than Avenant.
I don't think he's a jerk. I'd say he's a wanker.
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