Emma Watson’s Belle Won’t Wait for a Prince to Save Her
Emma Watson explains why Belle’s work, education and independence matter—and why lasting love depends on more than appearances.
Emma Watson on giving Belle a profession, defending her independence and finding something more enduring than good looks in Beauty and the Beast.
Emma Watson was not interested in playing a woman whose main ambition was to wait for a handsome prince. She had turned down Cinderella. Belle, the heroine of Disney’s new live-action Beauty and the Beast, offered something different.
When we meet at the Montage in Beverly Hills, Watson tells me that Belle’s independence mattered deeply to her. This was a woman who wanted to direct her own life, who could challenge others and act on behalf of the people she loved.
“I felt a responsibility to defend and protect the original DNA of this progressive woman, who was not a princess, did not want to marry a prince, and wanted to take control of her own destiny,” she says.
A heroine who acts
Belle lives with her father in a village where her interests and ambitions set her apart. When he becomes the Beast’s prisoner, she finds him and takes his place. The frightening owner of the castle is a prince trapped by a curse, along with the servants who have been transformed into household objects.
The familiar story depends on a change in how Belle and the Beast see one another. She begins to recognise kindness beneath his appearance. He must learn to love and, ultimately, to let her leave. Meanwhile, the handsome Gaston’s determination to possess Belle exposes an ugliness that has little to do with his looks.
Belle refuses Gaston, sacrifices her freedom for her father and later tries to save the Beast. She is central to the action rather than a reward waiting at its end. Watson wanted to build on that strength without losing the character audiences already knew.
“For example, we took the role of inventor from her father and gave it to her because I felt it was important that she had a profession,” she explains. “I am also proud that she was active in her community: we made her teach another girl in the street.”
Developing the character’s background gave the filmmakers room for those additions. For Watson, they deepen Belle’s curiosity and independence rather than replace them with something entirely new.
Bringing her convictions to the role
That interest in how women are portrayed extends beyond Watson’s acting. Since the end of the Harry Potter films, in which she played Hermione Granger, she has become increasingly active in campaigns for women’s rights and equality.
Appointed a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in 2014, she has advocated for girls’ education and promoted HeForShe, encouraging men to take part in the pursuit of gender equality.
“Working as an ambassador to defend women’s rights is the greatest honour for me and a wonderful opportunity,” she says. “It is an important part of my life.”
Belle gave her another way to explore those convictions. A heroine’s work, education and choices are not incidental details when a film will be watched by children around the world. They help define the possibilities its story places before them.
Love, captivity and choice
There is nevertheless an uncomfortable question at the heart of the fairy tale: Belle falls in love with the creature who imprisoned her. Does that undermine the independence Watson is so determined to protect?
Watson rejects the idea that Belle simply submits to her captor. She points to the character’s arguments with the Beast, her determination to return to her father and her attempts to escape. Belle does not abandon her own judgement or turn against the people she loves.
The question matters because the story is not only about an enchanted castle. It can also be read through the constraints placed on women’s choices in marriage. Watson wants the film to speak to the importance of being able to determine one’s own future.
Her emphasis is on a relationship that must change before it can become love. Belle’s willingness to see beyond an appearance does not mean that the Beast’s behaviour can remain beyond challenge.
Fear of the outsider
The film has also attracted controversy over a brief moment involving LeFou and another man. Director Bill Condon regards the reaction as wildly disproportionate to what appears on screen.
“We do not address sex in the film at all,” he says, dismissing claims that the sequence turns the family story into something it is not.
The controversy sits uneasily beside the story’s own warning about fear of difference. Gaston rallies the villagers against the Beast, presenting an outsider as a danger while pursuing a private ambition of his own. He wants to remove his rival for Belle, even as he claims to be protecting everyone else.
In a political climate shaped by hostility towards outsiders, that familiar scene takes on a contemporary edge. Fear becomes a way to gather followers; a frightening image takes the place of knowledge.
Condon is frustrated by reactions to a distorted account of his film. “They are not responding to something real,” he says. “They are distorting reality to justify their reaction.”
Does love really look beyond appearances?
Disney’s new version offers the spectacle expected of a major musical: elaborate images, familiar songs and performances that make an old story enjoyable to revisit. Watson gives Belle warmth and vulnerability while keeping her determination in view.
The fairy tale’s lasting appeal rests on questions that are less simple than its title suggests. What makes a person beautiful? How much can a first impression tell us? And what allows affection to survive after that first attraction has faded?
Before we finish, I ask Watson whether she could fall in love with a man who was not conventionally handsome. Her answer is firm.
“Of course, without a doubt. I do not deny that there is an initial reaction to someone handsome, but it can be fleeting,” she says. “In the end, what helps a relationship last is shared values, interesting conversations, and his ability to teach me things about myself and the world that I did not know.”
“I am certain that love goes beyond appearances.”
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