Beauty and the Beast

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Nearly every culture tells the story of Beauty and the Beast in one fashion or another. From Cupid and Psyche to India's Snake Bride to South Africa's "Story of Five Heads," the partnering of beasts and beauties, of humans and animals in all their variety--cats, dogs, frogs, goats, lizards, bears, tortoises, monkeys, cranes, warthogs--has beguiled us for thousands of years, mapping the cultural contradictions that riddle every romantic relationship. This book brings together tales from ancient times to the present and from a variety of cultures, highlighting the continuities and the range of themes in a fairy tale that has been used both to keep young women in their place and to encourage them to rebel, and that has entertained adults and children alike