Cocteau Beauty And The Beast
What does the Beast symbolize in Cocteau’s Beauty and The Beast?
The beast symbolizes preconceptions. He was ugly on the outside, but on the inside he’s a prince. To get the prince, Beauty had to learn to ignore the ugly exterior.
Also, he could be a symbol of loyalty. He was loyal to Beauty (Belle in Cocteau’s movie), and literally relied on her loyalty in return to live.