Belle's mother

Colette is a character in the 1991 Disney animated feature film Beauty and the Beast. She was the late mother of Belle and the wife of her father, Maurice.

Background[]

While the character was removed during the production of the film, Colette is alluded to in other materials surrounding her background. In the musical adaptation, she is mentioned in the song "No Matter What" where Belle's father compares her to her late mother ("You are your mother's daughter; therefore you are class. ... creme de la creme"), hinting that Belle's mother might have originally been from the upper-classes of high society; further suggesting that Belle's mother was a daughter of a 'vieux riche' family, and went on to marry a nouveau riche (Maurice). Since Belle mentions that her family having not been from the Village originally ("Every morning just the same, since the morning that we came, to this poor provincial town"), it could be argued that Belle's mother had passed away before Belle and Maurice had moved to the village.

In addition, a portrait of her reading to a younger Belle can be seen on the wall inside the replica of Belle's cottage that is a part of the Enchanted Tales with Belle attraction at Magic Kingdom. Also, she was seen with the same book that Belle got from the bookseller, indicating that she was the reason why the book was her favorite and why the bookkeeper allowed her to keep it.

Appearances[]

Beauty and the Beast[]

In the 1989 version of the original screenplay of the film, Colette was planned to have been mentioned as the deceased mother of two daughters, Belle and Clarice, (this time with Belle as the oldest sister). Wherein after her death, her music box (the figurines on which mirror those in the famous 18th-century painting "The Swing", by Jean Honore-Fragonard) is passed down to Belle on her 17th birthday (said music-box being an heirloom that had been passed-down to Belle's mother on her own 17th birthday). But ultimately she was never brought up at all in the final edits of the 1991 original screenplay.

Her passing marked the beginning of a series of misfortunes that would befall her family before her daughter, Belle, willingly exchanged her own freedom for her father's life, and later breaks the curse that plagued the Beast.

Beauty and the Beast (2017)[]

Belle's mother appeared in the 2017 live-action adaptation, where she is portrayed by Zoe Rainey. She was a victim of the plague (The "Black Death") in Paris when Belle was only an infant. Before Belle's mother died, she told Maurice to get himself and their daughter away from the plague to safety. Reluctantly obliging to her words, Maurice and Belle moved from Paris to Villeneuve. Maurice remained in a state of grief and drew pictures of her with Belle to cope with his loss, but he would not bear himself to tell Belle the true cause of her death. When talking about her with Belle, Maurice said that his deceased wife was, like Belle herself, "ahead of her time", implying that Belle inherited her mother's personality.

Eventually, Belle and the Beast travel to the old windmill through a magical book left by the Enchantress. There, the Beast spots an old baby rattle (shaped like a rose) and a plague doctor mask left inside the room, deducing that the plague is what killed Belle's mother and that Maurice was forced to evacuate with Belle at the time. With this revelation revealed, Belle finally realizes that Maurice couldn't bear to tell her truth behind her mother's death; even the Beast realizes that he was wrong to imprison Maurice as the latter only wanted to get a rose from the castle garden to make Belle happy. Reflecting on how his mother died succumbing to an illness when he was a child, the Beast expressed his condolences to Belle by apologizing for his misgivings against her father.

After being held captive with her father inside an asylum carriage by Gaston and Monsieur D'Arque, Belle admits to Maurice that she knows about the true cause behind her mother's death by producing the rose rattle, and that the Beast helped her out in finding it, which made Maurice realize that the Beast is not as terrible as he appears. After apologizing for not telling the truth, Maurice uses Belle's hairpin to free himself and Belle from the carriage, allowing the latter to run back to the Beast's castle to stop Gaston from slaying the Beast.

At the end of the film, Maurice can be seen in more elegant clothes, painting the dancing in celebration for the curse's breaking, suggesting that he has finally moved on from the death of his wife.

Printed media[]

As Old as Time[]

In the A Twisted Tale novel As Old as Time, Belle's mother is named Rosalind. She is combined with the Enchantress, making her the one who cursed the Beast and his servants.

Rosalind was known to be a powerful and passionate woman, who wished for nothing more than to fight for peace for the magical people. When the kingdom's magical residents started to suffer at the hands of humans, Rosalind visited the King and Queen to offer blessing to the new prince in exchange for protection for her people. Unfortunately, the monarchs deemed magic to be vile and refused her blessing and request. To protect her baby, Rosalind and Maurice relocated to the village just as a plague struck the kingdom. Many magical residents fled the kingdom afterward and even came to Rosalind and Maurice for help. One night, she was requested an audience by the king and queen, who asked her to end the plague in exchange for pardoning her for "leaving the kingdom". She refused, saying they brought it upon themselves. After the king and queen died, Rosalind kept tabs on the prince. One night, she ventured to the castle, and when she saw how spoiled the prince was, she cursed him and all of the castle's staff (including Mrs. Potts and Chip, whom were her husband's friends) before casting a memory spell to make everyone forget they ever existed. To ensure her family's safety, she even made Maurice and Belle forget about her.

Shortly after, Rosalind was captured and held captive by Monsieur D'Arque. The latter experimented on her body and weakened her magic over the years. When Monsieur D'Arque captured Maurice and Belle after deeming them dangerous as well, Maurice found Rosalind and the memory spell lifted from him instantly. She was eventually freed and reunited with her family. Seeing the Beast and Belle deeply in love and the Beast showing mercy to his enemies the way she never showed hers, Rosalind apologized for her misdeeds, even going as far as to admit that though she was powerful, what she did was reckless and not wise. She told the Beast that the little magic she had could only either undo the curse on his servants or him. The Beast asked her to free his servants. She complied. She then told them about the magical people who fled the kingdom, and their combined magic might be able to help him. Belle and Beast prepare to venture out to the world and face its dangers.