Beauty and the Beast

Is it really true that “All Scripture is inspired by God?” (2 Ti 3:16). Some feminist theologians argue that the Bible is nothing but male-centered works that are critically tainted with androcentrism. Nevertheless, the belief that the Bible was written completely by the revelation of God has legalized that the rights of women have been oppressed by the biased Christian doctrines. Today feminist theology fights androcentrism in Scriptures and cultural institutions by challenging the male authority of the Bible. If the Reformers of the 17 century fought the corrupted tradition of Roman church, modern feminist theologians have been fighting the biased male authority of the Reformation. In addition, we must not neglect that biased Christian traditions have controlled worldly cultures with a powerful authority throughout Christian history. Throughout this history, popular culture has taught us, consciously or unconsciously, that women are inferior to men. This is true especially in popular fairy tales. For example, the stories of Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and Sleeping Beauty have infused into our minds stereotypical images of women who subject the value of woman to the power of man. Those fairy tales are also male-centered works tainted by androcentrism. However, the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast has a unique perspective that overcomes the patriarchal prejudgment in the contemporary tales and reflects modern feminism. The male-centered plots cover the real value of woman in the story just as the countless malecentered terms darken the divine images of women in the Scriptures. I will examine the feminist perspective in Beauty and the Beast, drawing on this examination to reveal the real image of women in the Scriptures.