The purpose of this study was to examine the implications of selfhood in three retellings of the "Beauty and the Beast" story-Robin McKinley's Beauty and Rose Daughter, and Donna Jo Napoli's Beast-analyzing those factors that affected each protagonist's understanding of the self, how these challenged or aided them in their journey towards self-actualization, and how a sense of personal gratification represented the true reward at the end of the ordeal.
My analysis was informed by the Jungian concept of the Self as the goal of individuation, and Joseph Campbell's model of the hero's journey. As such, I found that these retellings illustrated the hero's journey as a representation of the process of individuation and the benefits to be gained by reaching this state of wholeness.
