Psyche does not balk, but willingly goes in order to keep her father in the good graces of the oracle and the gods. The same idea can be seen in both the Disney version and Ugly and the Beast. Cupid and Psyche also sets the example for the balking sisters and the happily ever after ending where beauty's love transforms the beast into a very fitting husband. Both the Disney version and Ugly and the Beast contain a thread of the original story with newer modern twists and evolutions.
In the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, beauty is portrayed as more of a bold and outgoing character rather than that of a submissive and obedient daughter. She actually acts very hostile towards the beast at first rather than to sleep with him as Psyche does with Cupid. Society accepts and seems to demand a strong female character in its newer stories. It is no longer acceptable to give a woman a clichéd and docile character. In the story of Ugly and the Beast, Ugly is actually the beauty character. This presents the first and most obvious deviation from the initial form of the story, the idea that the beauty character is flawed and that this flaw in itself brings on a form of purity. This ugliness humbles her and causes her to think more of others than herself, which is true to all of the beauty characters. The second major deviation from the original is that the beast, too, is not a handsome prince under the enchantment of dark magic, but simply just a beast that is very cultured and intellectual. It is interesting to see how these two modern versions relate from the original story of Cupid and Psyche, but how do they relate to each other in the same time period?.
Both of these modern versions have different target audiences. Ugly and the Beast is geared more towards adult audiences, while the Disney version Beauty and the Beast is oriented toward children. Barbara G. Walker, author of Ugly and the Beast, takes a very satirical yet down-to-earth view on the beauty and the beast story.
