Emma Watson reveals the deeper message in 'Beauty and the Beast'
At first glance, Beauty and the Beast might seem like your average fairytale romance. But, look a little closer and you'll see it is about much more than romance and village life. It is an important message about female education and the ability of books to empower lives.
Emma Watson spoke to Mashable about the deeper significance of her character Belle's love of books and the story's underlying message about female literacy.
At the start of the film she is a "peculiar" outsider. But, it is her passion for books that ultimately brings her and Beast together and sets the characters' love story in motion.
"[Books are] so powerful and they have the ability to change your life and your outlook, and this story really speaks to that, the sacred nature of books and their ability to transport you and empower you," says Watson.
"We still live in a world where there are probably over 80 million girls who won’t get to go to school just because of their gender."
Beauty and the Beast is also a lesson in not judging a book -- or a beast -- by its cover.
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
