Beauty and the Beast and Rapunzel, two of the world’s most recognized fairy tales are entirely different subjects which have no relation to each other.
Must there have been any difference at all then what may or may not be known is that Beauty and the Beast was originally a French fairy tale known as La Belle Et La Bete which translates exactly to that while Rapunzel was a story written by the Brothers Grimm as most fairy tales are identified even though the brothers translated Beauty and the Beast into English.
However, having grown up with them and still being fascinated by them to this day, I cannot help but notice that deep within the storyline, perhaps near the surface appears to be a sense of close similarity according to the plot and pattern. Of course their plots are known to all who have read them so is unnecessary to say them again. My only purpose here is to say how they are similar
Drawn into tough situations due to the temptation of plants under feminine suggestion and demand
The story of Beauty and the Beast begins with a widowed merchant and his six children, including a kind and polite daughter known as Beauty (Belle in the original tale and Disney film). When the merchant loses his fortune due to a fire and shipwrecks, the family moves to a smaller home. Two years later, they learn that one of his trade ships has returned. Before departing to retrieve it, the merchant asks his children if they want any gifts. His older daughters request fine clothes and jewels, assuming their wealth is restored, while Beauty only wishes for his safe return. When he insists on bringing her something, she asks for a rose.
At the port, the merchant finds his ship’s cargo already sold, leaving him penniless. On his way home, he gets lost in a snowstorm and stumbles upon a grand castle. Finding food and shelter inside, he helps himself before leaving the next morning. Spotting a rose garden, he remembers Beauty’s request and picks a flower. Suddenly, the castle’s owner—a monstrous Beast—appears, enraged by the theft despite offering the merchant hospitality. He threatens to kill him but relents when the merchant explains the rose is for his daughter. The Beast allows him to leave on the condition that Beauty comes in his place; otherwise, the merchant must return or be hunted down. Surprisingly, the Beast also gifts him wealth, jewels, and fine clothes for his other children but insists he tell them the truth.
Beauty is horrified upon hearing what happened but willingly takes her father’s place, feeling responsible. Though reluctant, her father accepts her decision. The Beast, pleased with her arrival, rewards the merchant with more riches but forbids him from returning, though assures him that no harm will come to his daughter, whom he treats like a princess.
In Rapunzel, a couple longs for a child and eventually expects one. They move to a new neighborhood near a garden filled with tempting rampion, owned by a feared witch who forbids trespassing. The wife craves only the rampion, ignoring her husband’s reasoning.
When she refuses to eat anything else, he sneaks into the garden to steal some for her. In some versions, he succeeds multiple times before being caught. The witch accuses him of theft, but he pleads that his pregnant wife will die without the rampion.
Showing mercy, the witch allows him to take as much as he wants—on the condition that she may claim their child. When the baby girl is born, the witch keeps her promise to care for her and names her Rapunzel.
The common theme here is an ordinary woman desires something from a garden— Belle a flower and Rapunzel’s mother an edible plant. This similarity highlights the lengths to which devoted men will go for their families, especially their wives and daughters, even if it means risking their lives, or stealing, or making unwanted deals. Additionally, both stories feature a captor who, despite their role, provides care for the heroine. The Beast ensures Beauty’s comfort when her father sends her to him, much like the witch cares for Rapunzel. However, while Beauty enjoys a luxurious life with the Beast, Rapunzel is confined to a high tower, preventing her from straying too far, despite the witch’s care.
Villainy and Princely intervention
Unlike the witch in Rapunzel, the Beast in Beauty and the Beast is not a villain. Instead, he is a man cursed because of a mistake he made. The only way to break the spell is for a woman to love him for who he truly is, beyond his frightening appearance which he later tells Beauty when he returns to human form.
While Beauty lives with the Beast, she often dreams about a Prince. She does not know if the prince is connected to her life with the Beast, even though the prince in her dreams talks like he is the Beast. It is only at the end, when the Beast turns back into a human, that Beauty realizes the prince from her dreams and the Beast are actually the same person.
In Rapunzel, the witch raises the girl in a tower, intending to keep her hidden from the world. However, a prince discovers Rapunzel when he hears her singing and learns how to climb the tower using her long hair—just as the witch does. The two fall in love, and the prince plans to help her escape. But when Rapunzel accidentally mentions him to the witch, she becomes furious. She cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and abandons her in a desert. When the prince arrives and finds the witch instead, he is devastated. In his grief, he jumps from the tower and lands in thorn bushes, which blind him.
In some versions of the tale, the witch pushes him from the tower when he tries to attack her, claiming she is immortal. In other versions, she blinds him with her magic outside the tower. The prince wanders blindly for years until he finally finds Rapunzel, now a mother to their two children. When she sees him, her tears of joy fall onto his eyes and miraculously restore his sight. He then takes her and their children to his kingdom, where they marry.
In Beauty and the Beast, Beauty asks to visit her sick father, and the Beast allows her to go as long as she promises to return within a week. However, her jealous sisters trick her into staying longer. When she finally remembers the Beast and returns, she finds him dying of heartbreak. Every night he had asked her if she would marry him, but she had always refused. This time, she admits that she loves him, and at that moment, he transforms back into a handsome prince. He reveals that a fairy cursed him to become a beast after he refused to help her, and only true love could break the spell. Beauty and the prince marry, though there is no mention of them having children.
The fate of the witch in Rapunzel varies (or unfortunately is not mentioned at all most of the time). Some versions say that after cutting off Rapunzel’s hair, she was trapped in the tower herself. Others say the prince confronted her and forced her to leave forever or when Rapunzel and the Prince returned to his Kingdom, they were never troubled by the witch ever again. Only one version of the story mentions Rapunzel reuniting with her real parents. Meanwhile, in most versions of Beauty and the Beast, Beauty’s father is present at her wedding to the prince, who is now free from his curse.