115 Vol. 22 No. 1, April 2022, pp. 115-124 DOI: 10.24071/joll.v22i1.3582 Available at https://e-journal.usd.ac.id/index.php/JOLL/index This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Rejection against the Patriarchal Society in Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos Beauty and The Beast Marssy Diana Sampe marssy.diana@gmail.com Department of English Letters, University of Sanata Dharma Abstract Article information Liberal feminism is a movement that focuses on individual freedom. This idea reflects women's liberation: women should have the same rights and opportunities as men in education, economy, politics, rights, and other gender inequality issues. The research aims to analyse Beauty and the Beast film's script through liberal feminism's lenses. This research uses a library research method that applied feminist criticism. Reading and selecting data techniques were used to collect the data. The film script of Beauty and the Beast used the data. To analyse the patriarchal society in the script, theories by Hooks and Beauvoir were used. The analysis results show that men have control and power to dominate people, especially women, and women do not enjoy the dignity of being a person; they do not have anything unless they are part of men's patrimony. To analyse the rejection done by Belle, theory by Freedman was used. The result shows that Belle rejects the social convention by reflecting the value of liberal feminism and individual autonomy. The implication in the story that insists on the voice of equality between gender, women deserve the right to get a proper education, liberty, justice, and the same rights as men. Keywords: Beauty and the Beast, liberal feminism, patriarchal society. Received: 9 August 2021 Revised: 4 February 2022 Accepted: 10 February 2022 Introduction Feminist movements have come long before the millennium era. According to Baehr (2017), the feminist movement or liberal movement also called liberalism is a set of ideologies that stress the importance of liberty and believe that a just state secures individual autonomy. Liberal feminists support this ideal and function for the state, as well as women's independence. However due to the lack of awareness of people, as UN Women stated, Gender equality has been pushed forward by women's movements on a global and national level. Advocates in nations and communities frequently have the most in-depth expertise on the issues that women and girls confront, as well as critical information on how to promote their rights. They build leadership abilities by pressing for change and accountability, and https://e-journal.usd.ac.id/index.php/JOLL/index Journal of Language and Literature ISSN: 1410-5691 (print); 2580-5878 (online) Marssy Diana Sampe 116 some utilize these talents to enter and reshape political spheres. Due to these concerns from the past until now, feminism has gone through three waves. Feminism in the western world has gone through three waves. According to Grady (2018), the first wave of feminism is concerned with enfranchisement and political equality rights for women (the right to vote). It is also concerned with equal opportunities to get an education, employment, and the right to own property. The second wave of feminism tries to combat social and cultural inequalities. The third wave of feminism is constant to deal with the financial, social, and cultural inequalities and includes a revived drive for the more significant influence of girls in politics and media. Due to these feminist waves, there are so many kinds of feminist theory referring to asserting women’s rights, and one of the movements is liberal feminism. Liberal feminism focuses on women's rights that access to education and economic opportunities, citizenship rights, political rights, and other matters ensure equality between men and women (Saulnier, cited in Lay & Daley, 2007, p. 5). Liberal feminism is a movement that focuses on individual freedom. This idea reflects women's liberation. Women should have the same rights and opportunities as men in education, economy, politics, rights, and other gender inequality issues (Nienabar & Moraka, 2016, p. 145). According to Jagger and Rosenberg, as cited in Sultana (2012), patriarchy is described as a male dominance’s system which establishes or creates independence and solidarity among men that enable them to dominate women through a hierarchical system. Therefore, liberal feminism also emphasises oppression—the oppression of a male-dominated society where women are viewed as inferior creatures while men are the superior. Before the feminist movement, women’s activities were limited; they lived under a society that used the patriarchal system. As Hooks (2004), described “Patriarchy is a political-social system that insists that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially females, and endowed with The condition that reflects the patriarchy can be found in literary works. Many writers imply feminist values to reflect women’s struggle in society. A society where women live with only a few limited rights and do not even have a right to break through the societal border serves as sarcasm to society or government because of women's lack of rights. It can be found in literary works. One literary work that reflects the liberal feminism idea or values is Beauty and the Beast. Belle is one Disney collection princess, first introduced in Disney's 30th animated feature film Beauty and the Beast (1991), based on Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont’s French fairy heroine tale. Belle was created by screenwriter Linda Woolverton and animated by James Baxter and Mark Henn. In 1994, Beauty and the Beast were officially entered Broadway Musical and were adapted from Walt Disney’s version in 1991 and animated musical film of the same name. In 2017 it was scripted and became formally a film version with the scenario written by Stephen Chbosky with the same name. This film's story exemplifies rejection against patriarchal society, limiting women's ability to express themselves and get equal rights. This film has a strong implication on the aspects of the liberal feminism ideology towards the society, how the patriarchy is described in the story, and how Belle rejects the convention of patriarchy. This study is designed to portray Belle's struggle to get her liberty and right as a human being by rejecting patriarchal society through revealing his liberal feminism value. the right to dominate and rule over the weak and to maintain that dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism and violence” (p. 28). According to Simone de Beauvoir (1956), either woman is married or living with their father. They do not enjoy the dignity of being a person; they do not have anything unless being a part of men's patrimony. They live only like the husband’s slave, a beast of burden or chattel, only live to listen and do what the men ask them to (p. 107). Men in the family are the ones who have control and power to dominate all people, especially women. Women must obey what they are asked to do because women are considered the second gender. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_(Beauty_and_the_Beast) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Beast_(1991_film) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Beast_(1991_film) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne-Marie_Le_Prince_de_Beaumont https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne-Marie_Le_Prince_de_Beaumont https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Woolverton https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Woolverton https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Baxter_(animator) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Henn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Beast_(1991_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Beast_(1991_film) Journal of Language and Literature Vol. 22 No. 1 – April 2022 ISSN: 1410-5691 (print); 2580-5878 (online) 117 Puspitasari (2017) analysed the liberal feminism seen through the main female character in Kinberg’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The researcher proves that the main point is to explain to the readers that in this film, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Jane Smith, as the female main character, depicts the idea or value of liberal feminism through her characters. All of these want to show that women can stand by themselves. Women can be independent even though they have a husband, and no one controls them except themselves. Women deserve equality in education, economy, or politics because they still have the same skill as men. In this film, Jane is not dependent on her husband, but she is independent because she knows her skills in doing her job and life. Clow analysed Female Subservience in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Through this analysis, Chow (2013) intended to unearth the messages and reveal these messages' effect on children as Disney's collection audiences. Therefore, Chow (2013) suggested that Disney overturn these negative stereotypes because it would affect children as children learn from what they have watched and intend to play based on the plot. Coastes, Bonnah, and Richardson analysed the Misrepresentation and Social Responses in Fairy-tale Romance and Redemption in Beauty and the Beast (2019). The result proves that all the violence is done by the Beast, such as the Beast's threat toward Belle when Belle did not want to join the dinner; the anger when Belle sneaked out to the castle's west wing showed us how bad the Beast's temper was. Yet these all were being dismissed by the servants who made Belle learn the past of the Beast, and The aim of breaking the curse does this condition. This study also wants to show that the misrepresentation of the Beast's violent behaviour must be changed, not being dismissed by the curse he got. Still, Belle will not decline the invitation by learning how to be superior to a person. The contrast of this study, even though it has the same topic and object, the researcher focuses on discussing the liberal feminism value, which emphasises individual autonomy, which appears as a rejection of the strict patriarchal society. The condition women were considered inferior. Then, Belle rejects the patriarchal society showed the value of liberal Feminism to fight those conditions and get self- liberty. Methodology The focus of this study is the struggle of Belle’s to speak up for her right and get her liberty in the middle of a strictly patriarchal society. Due to this reason, the researcher uses feminist criticism. According to Guerin, feminist criticism is often a political attraction upon other criticisms. Its social orientation moves beyond traditional literary criticism. It is also concerned with the marginalisation of all women, which is being regulated as second gender (1999, p. 196). In addition, Tyson said, Feminist criticism examines how the literature (and other cultural productions) reinforces or undermines women's economic, political, social, and psychological oppression (2015, p. 79). The method used in this research was the library research method to analyse Beauty and the Beast's script by employing reliable theories from books or online sources. According to George (2008), library research is a method of collecting data through studying and understanding the data that has close relation with the issues from books, theories and documents, whereas the data were taken in the form of primary data. There were two sources that the researcher needed in this Nurul Hanifah, Moh. Zawawi, Penny Respati Yurisa (2017) analysed the liberal feminism in the file of Joan based on Naomi Wolf’s perspective. The researchers explain how Johanna must fight to get a better and proper education until she becomes a pope; her gender as a woman had no role in society in this context. The result proves that Johanna's main character faces various obstacles as a woman who lived in a strong catholic society where women are not acceptable as part of the community. In this case, they are prevented from getting a proper education and all social issues. Due to this societal condition, all the obstacles and struggles she faces reflect the value of liberal feminism fighting for equality. Journal of Language and Literature ISSN: 1410-5691 (print); 2580-5878 (online) Marssy Diana Sampe 118 research: primary and secondary sources. The primary source was the script of the film Beauty and the Beast. The secondary source was taken from some books that helped analyse this study's patriarchy and liberal feminism value. There were several steps to analyse this screenplay of Beauty and the Beast. The first step was reading and re-reading the script. It was used to find and identify Belle’s action and life experience in the story by transcribing and marking the essential things related to liberal feminist. The second step was to separate the collected data into liberal feminists’ concerns. The third step was to find appropriate theories to be analysed in the script. Then, the last step was to conclude after the researcher answered the two problem formulations. The researcher makes the conclusion based on the analysis found in this research. Results and Discussion This part discusses the analysis of the problem formulation. This part is divided into two sub-section to get a clear and in-depth analysis. The first part discusses the patriarchal society in the film. The second part reveals Belle’s liberation as an act of rejecting the social situation. In analysing, the researcher applies some theories to help in examining this study. Patriarchal Society in Beauty and the Beast This section presents a description of the social condition in Beauty and the Beast. By applying the theories explained by Hooks (2004), the researcher discovers the type of social condition described in the script. According to patriarchal theory, men in the family are the ones who have control and power to dominate people, especially women. Simone de Beauvoir (1956) said that either woman is married or living with their father; women do not enjoy the dignity of being a person; they do not have anything unless they are part of men's patrimony. They live only like the husband’s slave, a beast of burden or chattel, only live to listen and do what the men asked them to (p.107). As a support of this opinion, Bhasin, as cited in Sultana, even said, "…the word 'patriarchy' literally means the rule of the father or the 'patriarch,' and initially, it was used to describe a specific type of 'male-dominated family'" (2012, p. 2). Consequently, Sultana (2012, p. 8) said, women have no power since all the authority and power are all over males. The effect women get of patriarchal society is a form of discrimination, such as discrimination against girls in food distribution, the burden of household work on women and young, lack of educational opportunities for girls, lack of freedom and mobility. There are also sexual harassment at the workplace, lack of inheritance or property rights for women, male control over women’s bodies and sexuality, no control over fertility or reproductive rights. All those things show how strict a patriarchal society is. The description of patriarchal society's impact is the household burden and lack of educational opportunities for girls. It depicts in the script where girls are forced to do the household and boys go to school. Belle passes SCHOOL BOYS as they march into the school house. Their heads turn in unison. This condition portrays a situation where social rules play a big part it. Only boys can go to school and get proper education, yet girls are forced to do household or woman’s work. These situations show that men have more power over women, and they have such a privilege that women are not entitled. Women and girls only choose to follow society’s conventions. There is also a dialogue between Gaston and Belle. Gaston tries to show Belle the whole community they live in, a society believing in men’s power and domination. Women would not be viewed as a precious human beings if they were left alone by the father. It also means if they do not marry or have men in their lives, they would be left alone, as poor homeless women. As the boys scramble into school, Belle steps on the stones over the duck pond -- revealing GIRLS forced into “woman's work” chores, washing clothes in the circular laverie (Chobsky & Spiliotopoulos, 2016, p. 6). Journal of Language and Literature Vol. 22 No. 1 – April 2022 ISSN: 1410-5691 (print); 2580-5878 (online) 119 This dialogue shows us an example of men’s power in the patriarchal society since they are the family leader. Women who are viewed as the second gender in a patriarchal society are not valued if they live alone without any man in their lives. If they have no men, they are considered AGATHE (a beggar woman whose father is dead and unmarried). This condition represents the patriarchal society that reflects the power of privilege convention in a society where men’s power and domination control the environment. It also describes women as men’s property and dependent on men, who are only deemed worthy if they have men in their lives. Patriarchy is a kind of convention that is applied in a particular environment. Suppose someone lives in such a society with inherent patriarchy. In that case, they should follow all conventions and live by holding up those conventions. The image swells to reveal the whole village, singing. ALL: Look there she goes a girl who’s strange but special. A most peculiar mademoiselle. It’s a pity and a sin. She doesn’t quite fit in! The lyrical dialogues above are such sarcasm towards Belle since she does not follow society's convention. Being the only woman who can read and educate herself in such a strictly patriarchal society makes everything she has done, such as reading a book, viewed as a sin to all people. Belle’s habit of not fitting in with society or following convention sometimes makes the people mad. NASTY HEADMASTER: What on earth are you doing? He is joined by the fishmonger CLOTHILDE, outraged. NASTY HEADMASTER (CONT’D): Teaching another girl to read? Isn’t one enough? Belle locks eyes with the headmaster, then turns back to the girl. The headmaster seethes. Some people in the environment are angry with Belle since she teaches a girl how to read. It affects the people who lived under the convention, and they are angry with Belle since she teaches a girl how to read, which breaks the convention in their society. For some people who apply this system, only boys have a right to get proper education, rights, and power. The act done by Belle’s is a mistake. As Sultana said, According to Sultana, “Patriarchy, which pre-supposes males' natural superiority over females, shamelessly upholds women's dependence on and subordination to the man in all spheres of life. GASTON: Belle, do you know what happens to spinsters in our village after their fathers die? Gaston motions to the street, where we find AGATHE, a spinster, late 30’s, dirty and homeless, rattling her cup: “alms for the poor?” GASTON: (CONT): They beg for scraps, like poor Agathe. This is our world, Belle. For simple folk like us, it doesn’t get any better (Chobsky and Spiliotopoulos, 2016, p. 16). CLOTHILDE: We have to do something. Belle’s washing machine is hauled out of the laverie and dumped onto the ground. She collects her laundry from the dirt, trying to remain poised before the gawking crowd (Chobsky & Spiliotopoulos, 2016, p. 14). !"#$%&'%#()*+ ,)) (-% ."/%0 ,#1 ,'(-"02(* /2(-2# (-% 3,42)*+ $"52%(* ,#1 (-% $(,(% 0%4,2# %#(20%)* 2# 4%#6$ -,#1$7 8'% (" .,(02,05-*+ /"4%# -,9% :%%# 1%.029%1 "3 (-%20 )%;,) 02;-($ ,#1 ".."0('#2(2%$< .,(02,05-,) 9,)'%$ 0%$(025( /"4%#6$ 4":2)2(* ,#1 0%=%5( (-%20 30%%1"4 "9%0 (-%4$%)9%$ ,#1 (-%20 .0".%0(* >?')(,#,+ @AB@+ .7 CD7 E-,( 2$ /-* F%))%G$ /,$-2#; 4,5-2#% 2$ -,')%1 ,#1 1'4.%1 2# (-% $5%#%7 F%))% 2$ %H.%5(%1 (" 3"))"/ (-% 0')%$ 23 $-% /,#($ (" ;%( .0".%0 (0%,(4%#(7 VILLAGE LASSES: But she really is a funny girl VILLAGE MEN: A beauty but a funny girl ALL: She really is a funny girl that Belle! (Chobsky and Spiliotopoulos, 2016, p.11). Journal of Language and Literature ISSN: 1410-5691 (print); 2580-5878 (online) Marssy Diana Sampe 120 Belle’s Rejection Acts against the Patriarchy Seen through Liberal Feminism Value Regarding the patriarchal society, Belle’s rejection through the patriarchal society results from the strict patriarchal convention, which sets up limitations for women’s roles or rights in society. According to Simone de Beauvoir (1956), either woman is married or living with their father. They do not enjoy the dignity of being a person; they do not have anything unless being a part of men's patrimony. They live only like the husband’s slave, a beast of burden or chattel, only lived to listen and do what the men asked them to (p.107). Because of this social background, a misfit in society or a rebel occurs, as Boulton ever said, A misfit or rebel is as much conditioned by the society in which he lives as is a dull conformist or mature compromiser. Even a tolerably free society puts heavy pressures on us, not because social organisation is inherently evil, but because living together restricts everyone's clamorous selfishness, and yet we cannot avoid being interdependent (Boulton, 2013, p. 125). Being independent and getting all rights, equality and liberty as human beings are the main ideas of liberal feminism. These reasons make Belle reject the patriarchal society to get her rights, freedom, or liberty as a human being. According to Freedman, liberal feminists include all who campaign for women’s equal rights within the framework of the liberal state and confer that women must be given the same equal citizenship as men (2001, p. 5). From this statement, the researcher concludes that liberal feminism focuses on women’s rights in education, political rights, economic opportunities, and other issues that ensure equality between women and men. Liberal feminism counts heavily on individual autonomy or women’s liberty against the patriarchal society, where males control women. The theory of liberal feminism, which emphasises and stresses the importance of individual autonomy protected and legalised by guaranteed rights and equality of opportunity (Madsen, 2000, p. 35), was established as the efforts directed towards patriarchy rather than a male-dominated society's structural change. It is also believed in reviving men and women's equal position from all kinds of stereotypes about women's social roles described as a slave of men in their family. Rejecting the Restriction in Accessing Education Belle’s first act against the patriarchal convention is rejecting the convention that restricts access to education, especially for girls. In the script, patriarchal society can be seen clearly in Beauty and the Beast scenes. Belle passes SCHOOL BOYS as they march into the school house. Their heads turn in unison. The audiences can see the setting that portrays the patriarchal society from the words above. School is only a related word to boys, and laverie is related to girls. Only boys can go to school and get proper education, yet girls are forced to do household or woman’s work. There is also stated that patriarchy is a convention applied in a particular environment. If we live in a society with inherent patriarchy, we should follow all the conventions. NASTY HEADMASTER: What on earth are you doing? He is joined by the fishmonger CLOTHILDE, outraged. NASTY HEADMASTER (CONT’D): Teaching another girl to read? Isn’t one enough? Belle locks eyes with the headmaster, then turns back to the girl. The headmaster seethes. CLOTHILDE: We have to do something. Belle’s washing machine is hauled out of the laverie and dumped onto the ground. She collects her laundry from the dirt, !" #$% &'(" ")*+,&-% ./#' ")$''-0 1%--% "#%2" '/ #$% "#'/%" '3%* #$% 45)6 2'/4 77 *%3%+-./8 !"#$% 9'*)%4 ./#' :;',+/<" ;'*6= )$'*%"0 ;+"$./8 )-'#$%" ./ #$% ).*)5-+* -+3%*.% >!"#$%&' ( )*+,+#-#*#.,#%/ 0123/ *4 354 Journal of Language and Literature Vol. 22 No. 1 – April 2022 ISSN: 1410-5691 (print); 2580-5878 (online) 121 People in the town, who follow the social rules in which only boys can read and write, are angry with Belle since she breaks the convention. People have enough with just her that violates the social conventions. However, she does not want to stop even though people talk her behind about her sins of being different. Thus, people are mad and hauled her washing machine to warn her that they have enough with her and want her to stop and stick to the rules. Here, Belle is so passionate about teaching children how to learn how to read. Belle is then critical of the convention that restricts girls from getting an education and aims to get proper education between men and women. The act above also reflects liberal feminism in obtaining equal rights and citizenship with men. From her point of view, if she can educate herself and develop her ability and knowledge, then other girls in the town will do the same that is why she tries to help them. Referring to this act, Belle does not follow society’s convention in which only boys get access to proper education. The entire act done by Belle above is due to patriarchal convention. Patriarchy is why Belle’s being so critical with her environment is how she portrays society as a patriarchal society, and how she represents herself is different from others. It could be seen from her dialogical lyrics, BELLE (CONTD): I want much more than this provincial life... Looking at Belle's dialogical lyrics, the audience can see how Belle views society. It is only a little town with little people who always do the same things over society's same rules every day. There will be no change in people’s minds since they are still strict on the rules, making Belle want to do different things. The expression of wanting something more than just a general follow on strict life in her society wants to adventure somewhere and find someone who can understand herself. Belle views herself as someone other than the people around her. She acts just like herself. Being a girl who can do, know, and get what trying to remain poised before the gawking crowd (Chobsky & Spiliotopoulos, 2016, p. 14). Regarding the issues above on education, which become one of the main focuses of liberal feminism, as Nienabar & Moraka (2016) said, liberal feminism maintains that women should have the same rights as men, including good access to the educational aspect (p. 145). Even though society does not provide access for a girl to an education, she does not stop there. Belle even goes to the library or the church to borrow some books from Pere Robert (Chobsky & Spiliotopoulos, 2016, p. 6). This action shows that even though society prevents and stops her, she still finds another way to fulfil her needs by reading books. Also, her passion for getting fair education for girls in the village is enormous because society gives restrictions in accessing education; even though people are angry and make her get unpleasant treatment (Chobsky & Spiliotopoulos, 2016, p. 14), she keeps doing it, GASTON: Belle! Heard you had a little trouble with the headmaster. He never liked me, either. Can I give you a little advice about the villagers, though? They’re never going to trust the kind of change we’re trying to bring. Pursuing her into her garden, he trampled cabbages. BELLE: All I wanted was to teach a child to read (Chobsky & Spiliotopoulos, 2016, p. 15). BELLE: Little town, it’s a quiet village. Every day like the one before. Little town full of little people. Waking up to say... (Chobsky & Spiliotopoulos, 2016, p. 4). BELLE (CONT’D): Every morning just the same. Since the morning that we came. To this poor provincial town (Chobsky & Spiliotopoulos, 2016, p. 5). BELLE: There must be more than this provincial Life (Chobsky & Spiliotopoulos, 2016, pp. 6, 10). BELLE: I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell. And for once it might be grand. To have someone understand I want so much more than they’ve got planned (Chobsky & Spiliotopoulos, 2016, p. 17). Journal of Language and Literature ISSN: 1410-5691 (print); 2580-5878 (online) Marssy Diana Sampe 122 they desire without being stopped by society. Referring to these acts, Belle rejects the patriarchal rules because Belle only wants to get her rights as a human being and equal to men in terms of rights and opportunities. All of these reflect the idea of liberal feminism in obtaining equal rights between men and women. Rejecting the Patriarchal Convention in Getting Freedom of Expression In the description of patriarchy’s impact on women, one of them is lack of freedom and mobility for girls and lack of inheritance or property rights. The researcher can figure out many scenes showing how strict patriarchy convention limits women's freedom of expression in the script. As mentioned above, there is a dialogue between Gaston and Belle in discussing the patriarchal society. It describes a society in which the community would not value women if they were lived alone without any men in their lives, GASTON: Belle, do you know what happens to spinsters in our village after their fathers die? In Belle’s environment, AGATHE means a beggar woman whose father is dead or unmarried. Women will be seen as worthy if they have men in their families. According to British Literature Wiki, women had various roles in the household during the 18th century. They were responsible for running the household and managing the servants for more affluent families. In addition, they were also responsible for cooking and feeding the family. Then, in general, women have very few rights and experience oppression in the patriarchal's society. From these facts, women do not enjoy the dignity of being human since they are being kept by the convention of men’s domination power. The patriarchal society also pre-supposes male’s superiority over females. According to Sultana (2012), this convention makes women dependent on men in all life spheres. Consequently, all the power and domination within the family and the society are all in men’s hands. It means that men are the leader and the family's key, and women must hear their words and command. Yet, in some scenes, Belle tries to show her rejection towards these rules by not do the men’s orders, MAURICE: Belle, listen to me. It’s all right. Live your life. Forget me. BELLE: Forget you? Everything I am is because of you. MAURICE: I love you, Belle. Don’t be afraid. BELLE: I love you too, Papa... She pulls him close. BELLE: I have to warn the Beast MAURICE: Warn him? How did you get away from him? BELLE: He let me go, papa. He sent me back to you. BELLE (CONT’D): Will you help me now? MAURICE: It’s dangerous. BELLE: Yes. Yes it is. GASTON: When we return to the village, you will marry me, and the Beast's head will hang on our wall! From these scenes, Belle reveals the dignity of being a human being to get a chance to express herself in making a decision. Despite her father's commands, who is the family leader, and the power Gaston holds in the society due to his social class position. Belle is still brave and independent to do what she wants to make her own decision. In this case, what Belle does is based on what she has done and experienced, so she decides on it. She does Gaston motions to the street, where we find AGATHE, a spinster, late 30’s, dirty and homeless, rattling her cup: “alms for the poor?” GASTON (CONT’D): They beg for scraps, like poor Agathe. This is our world, Belle. For simple folk like us, it doesn’t get any better (Chobsky & Spiliotopoulos, 2016, p. 16). BELLE (CONT’D): I’m not afraid. (Whispers) And I will escape, I promise. MAURICE: What?! (Chobsky & Spiliotopoulos, 2016, pp. 25-26). Maurice sees the courage and determination in her eyes. And his own eyes light up with an idea (Chobsky & Spiliotopoulos, 2016, p. 85). BELLE: NEVER (Chobsky & Spiliotopoulos, 2016, p. 92). Journal of Language and Literature Vol. 22 No. 1 – April 2022 ISSN: 1410-5691 (print); 2580-5878 (online) 123 what she thinks is right. She never let society’s rules or patriarchal society control her, even though her father never let her. According to Freedman (2001), Liberal feminism is a term that emerged for all women to start questioning their inferior status and demanding an improvement in their social status. Therefore, in Belle’s mind, she thinks that men are the head of the family. Society's convention cannot be the reason to give them a chance to restrict the liberty and rights of women. Women also have the right to express themselves, including opinions, criticism, or even desire. Then, she wants women in the village to start to speak for their rights and not only hold the society’s convention or belief. No one has the power to control others. The controller is only the person itself. Women own their own life means they get the right to do what they want and get what they deserve in education, justice, equality, and liberty. Conclusion The researcher concludes the analysis of the problem formulation. Based on the analysis, the researcher finds that Belle's reasons for all the rejections are the strict patriarchal society. The social conventions limit women’s rights and put them in a lower position than men. In this research, Belle’s primary focus is the rejection of the patriarchy seen through her liberal feminism values within herself. This study also reveals the findings on the strict patriarchal convention in Beauty and the Beast and how Belle portrays herself the will to get women's autonomy shows the complication of the story. It is not only focusing on the side of liberal feminism portrayed by the main character, like the previous study, but it focuses on breaking the convention of patriarchy by appealing the liberal feminism values. The main idea of liberal feminism in this script is to get equal freedom or liberty or individual autonomy as a human being. Due to this condition, Belle tries to show the liberal feminism value by declaring the autonomy for women to express themselves. Beauty and the Beast portray the society in which women only live to do the household and only seem worthy in the world if they have men in their lives. This patriarchal society is a social condition where women are viewed as the second gender. Women do not have the dignity of being human because they are lived as the men’s properties. Belle, who holds tight to the liberation of individuals, rejects all the patriarchal system. In revealing liberal feminism as a rejection of the patriarchal system, she wants to tell that women not only do the household. They could also get the opportunity in education and freedom of expressing themselves as human beings. Everyone, women, and men have the right to choose what they want to do and represent them, including critics or opinions and others. No one has power over someone; the controller is the only person itself. 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