The Real Story of Beauty and the Beast
All of us may have read the story of Beauty and the Beast, or watched its animation or movie. It is fun and touching, so everybody likes it. But a few of us may know that this fairy tale is based on a real story of a man named Petrus Gonsalvus. The real story isn’t the same as the movie or the animation. It is interesting but rather sad, not fun. I would like to tell you the whole story of Petrus Gonsalvus. Then you can appreciate in what way the original story is embellished and changed into one of the most beloved stories, Beauty and the Beast.
Petrus Gonsalvus was born in the sixteenth century on Tenerife island,
the largest island of Spain’s seven Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa.
onsalvus was so hairy that he was treated as an animal. In fact, he suffered
from a genetic condition known as hypertrichosis, which causes an abnormal growth
of hair on one’s face and other parts. In his time, however, people believed that
a hairy man would turn violent and barbaric at night, and then steal and eat children
alive. So, little Gonsalvus was captured and put into a cage, and was given
raw meat and animal feed for food.
Later, he was sent to King Henry II of France as a very unusual gift for his coronation. Fortunately, however, King Henry II did not see Gonsalvus as an odd animal to be kept and observed in an iron cage. The king decided to experiment with him. The king would attempt to educate and transform Gonsalvus into a gentleman. An anonymous hairy boy was allowed to keep his birth name (Pedro Gonzalez) in its Latin form (Petrus Gonsalvus), and given clothes and cooked meals. He received the education of a nobleman. He was even taught to speak, read, and write in three languages.
However, after Henry II was wounded in a jousting tournament on 30 June 1559, and finally died of septicemia on July 10, 1559, Catherine de Medici, the king’s widow decided to continue to experiment with Gonsalvus. She wondered what would happen if Gonsalvus married a woman. So she made Gonsalvus marry a daughter of a royal court servant named Catherine.
Petrus and Catherine Gonsalvus gave birth to seven children.
The whole family toured European countries and cities,
eventually settling in Parma,
Italy because they were employed by Duke Ranuccio Farnese.
Sadly enough, the four of their children
who suffered from hypertrichosis were sent away as gifts
for the upper class by the Duke.
Petrus and Catherine were married for more than 40 years. Catherine died in 1623 and Petrus
might die sometime around 1618. The family's story spread throughout the region, and eventually
became a source of inspiration for one of the most popular love stories, Beauty and the Beast.
In sum, Beauty and the Beast known as a fairy tale was based on the real story, which doesn’t
have a happy ending. But Beauty and the Beast was changed into the story with a happy ending and
was embellished so well that Beauty and the Beast has become one of the most favorite stories to read.
