A young French peasant woman with a passion for reading, she is considered the odd one out in her small hamlet, but widely renowned for her great beauty, especially by the narcissistic hunter Gaston. Her father Maurice, while lost in a forest, trespasses upon the castle of a Beast who is a cursed prince. The Beast only releases him when she agrees to stay with him forever, which he hopes will eventually lead to her loving him and break the spell that made him a Beast. After a night of coming to terms with each other, they slowly bond and fall in love.