Beastly Donations

by

Alyson Morris

Many gifts are given, received and exchanged in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ by Marie Le Prince de Beaumont (BB), and ‘The Tiger’s Bride’ by Angela Carter (TB). Click onThe Gift Grid to see the number of gifts given, and their implications.

The gift of roses, in both narratives, is the focus of this presentation. 

Is a rose merely a gift of love? A gift without any expectation of recompense (Derrida)? Are any of the roses merely donated? Is a sacrifice being made? Are the gifts misinterpreted by the receivers? Did they abuse the right to their gifts?

Click on Giving Roses to see our response.

References:

• The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Jacques Derrida 1930-2004, http://www.iep.utm.edu/d/derrida.htm
• Find Articles, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2096/is_4_54/ai_n8686631
• Marcel Mauss, The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exhange in Archaic Societies, transl. Ian Cunnison (London: routledge and Kegan Paul, 1-16)