Emma Watson promises us there’s no Stockholm syndrome for her Belle in “Beauty and the Beast”

Beauty and the Beast is a darker Disney story than you might remember from childhood. In the film, Belle is a prisoner of the Beast’s — which could be problematic. But our girl Emma Watson explains why Belle isn’t suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.

In the upcoming Beauty and the Beast live-action film, Emma Watson plays Belle, a woman who falls for the Beast while technically kinda his prisoner. Emma is a self-proclaimed feminist and typically chooses films that align with her personal viewpoint. So that’s why she makes it a point to explain that Belle is not a victim of Stockholm Syndrome in an interview with Entertainment Weekly:

"She's giving him hell. There is no sense of 'I need to kill this guy with kindness.' Or any sense that she deserves this. In fact, she gives as good as she gets. He bangs on the door, she bangs back. There's this defiance that 'You think I'm going to come and eat dinner with you and I'm your prisoner—absolutely not.'"

Emma also told EW that Belle’s empathy for the Beast is a huge part of why the story works:

"What's so beautiful about this story as a whole is this idea that Belle is able to see past these extraneous, external, superficial qualities of Beast. She is able to see deeper, and that's one of her special powers. It is her superpower: empathy." 

We live in a society where appearances are often how people are judged. So to see a story where that superficiality is ultimately proved to be false is refreshing and much needed! Beauty and the Beast hits theaters March 17th and basically it can’t get here soon enough. Thanks Emma for being such a thoughtful human!