Emma Watson addresses controversial question regarding ‘Beauty and the Beast’ relationship

Emma Watson addresses the question as old as time: is Belle’s love for Beast a result of Stockholm Syndrome?

Beauty and the Beast is a timeless fairy tale with versions of the story going back hundreds of years. Emma Watson will be starring in the live action telling of the story, to hit screens on March 17.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly on Feb. 16, Watson gave her opinion on the question people have always wondered: why on earth does Belle fall in love with a beast?

“It’s such a good question, and it’s something I really grappled with at the beginning; the kind of Stockholm Syndrome question about the story,” Watson said in the interview. “That’s where a prisoner will take on the characteristics of and fall in love with the captor. Belle actively argues and disagrees with [Beast] constantly. She has none of the characteristics of someone with Stockholm Syndrome because she keeps her independence, she keeps that freedom of thought.”

Watson says that Belle and the Beast’s love works because they develop a friendship first and then build love from that.

“I actually think it is more meaningful than a lot of love stories,” the actress said.

Watson stars in the film alongside Dan Stevens, who plays Beast, and Luke Evans who plays the villain, Gaston.

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