Incoming meta, because this is a great post for so many reasons.
First gifset: Adam’s surprise is something Belle would actually enjoy. She sure as shit does not want Gaston’s surprise. Adam knows what Belle would like because he asked the staff. He makes an effort to learn about her, something that Gaston doesn’t ever do.
In addition, Adam invites her to participate in the surprise. She can say yes or no. She looks at him suspiciously, but closes her eyes and allows him to lead her forward.
By contrast, Gaston invites himself into her physical space. He walks in without her consent. The lack of consent, coupled with his physical size, makes her feel threatened and uncomfortable. Adam is larger than Gaston and could be just as dangerous, but apart from the first day at the castle, he never makes her feel uncomfortable. Instead, he gently touches Belle’s hands and leads her forward.
Belle clearly also trusts Adam. You have to trust someone to let them lead you with your eyes closed. That’s why leadership activities often include blindfolded walks and trust falls. I don’t think Belle would ever feel comfortable closing her eyes around Gaston. Nor does she want him to touch her. She keeps trying to escape from him when he enters her home. In many ways, Belle’s home is a safe space for her to be herself. She can read without the condescending stares of the villagers. And it is a safe space until Gaston barges in. Apart from the first day at the castle, Adam makes Belle feel safe and gives her a space to be herself.
The contrast in body language says so much here.
Second gifset: Adam nurtures Belle’s passion, while Gaston just tries to take it away from her. “What do you know about my dreams, Gaston?” Nothing, because he doesn’t ever listen to her. You know what her dream is? Someone giving her a whole fucking library.
Adam literally gives her as many books as she could ever read. He actively encourages her passion. But in town, Gaston rips away her book- the only one she probably owns- and he won’t return it. And then he takes it away a second time after she manages to clean it up. I hadn’t even noticed that quick interaction until I was looking at screencaps. And then Gaston grabs her by the arm, and only lets her go when she says she has to return to her father. What a possessive asshat.
Third gifset: Do you know why Adam gives her a library? Just because he wants to. He says, “I want to do something for her.” Adam has no expectation of receiving anything in return. Belle’s happiness is enough for him. Look at the dude; he’s grinning just in anticipation of making her happy. Belle thanks him, but he didn’t do it in order to receive thanks and ingratiate himself with her. He just wanted to make her smile.
However, Gaston doesn’t care about what Belle actually wants, nor what would make her happy.He just wants to do something for himself, because marrying Belle is all about him.
Gaston also isn’t interested in knowing the actual Belle. He’s only interested in this idealized version of her, one that would require her to cut off parts of herself. So he throws away her passion, thus trying to throw away the part of her he doesn’t like. That’s not how actual love works, buddy. Gaston chucks away the book for another reason as well: he wants her attention on him instead. He wants her to give up her passion for him. Adam doesn’t want Belle to give up her passion, nor does he gift the library in order to receive attention.
Fourth gifset: At the start of the story, Adam doesn’t know how to read. But he’s open to something new, so he listens to stories and he learns how to read himself. He also encourages Belle’s reading and shares in the stories with her. However, Gaston feels actively threatened by Belle’s ability to read and think. It threatens his control and the patriarchy as a whole. By contrast, Belle’s reading and thinking only makes Adam fall for her more.
Also, can you imagine Gaston ever letting a woman teach him something? Adam’s humble enough to acknowledge his weaknesses and address them. He doesn’t feel like he has to protect his masculinity or pride. And he respects Belle, so he gratefully accepts her offer to teach him. Belle’s able to take an authoritative role as she guides him- something that could never happen with Gaston.
Fifth gifset: Adam’s chivalrous. He anticipates her needs and helps her take off her cloak without her asking. This behavior toward a woman would be especially important in 1700s. Plus, he treats both Belle and her physical possessions gently (cloak carefully hung by fire vs. book covered in mud). Gaston has no respect for Belle’s house or her book. Nor does he care that she’s the one who would probably have to clean up the mess he made. Dude is the opposite of chivalrous. Instead of making her tasks easier, he makes them harder. Plus, he puts his stank-ass feet *where she literally eats her food.*
We also have a great parallel about fires in these gifs. In one, Adam and Belle sit together by the fire, enjoying a book. In the other, Gaston describes a future by a fireside in which Belle is massaging his feet. Adam and Belle participate in an activity together as equals, while Gaston just wants Belle to serve him.
Final thoughts: appearances and that blue book
In looking at this edit, I also realized that Belle’s book is blue, the same shade as her dress. Many people have commented on the color symbolism in the movie and have said that blue represents Belle. I’d argue that in this scene, the book truly represents her. Our favorites stories say so much about us, and she tells us that this is her favorite book. Sharing our favorite stories with others is strangely vulnerable. In the opening scenes with Gaston, I think the book represents the real Belle. It’s her inner self. It represents her true self more than her outer appearance does.
So if the book is the real Belle, and her body is just her outer shell…. look at how Gaston treats the real Belle. He wants to rip away this part of herself- her soul- from her outer shell, because he’s only interested in Belle’s beauty. He manhandles her, mocks her, and insults her. He throws her in a pile of mud. He tells her to get rid of the essence of herself. In the scene with the feet, Gaston acts like the book isn’t even there. He barely gives the book a second glance early on- his attention is always focused on Belle’s physical appearance. Then he puts his nasty-ass feet on her book and gets mud all over it. This is after Belle has already taken the book home and cleaned it up from their first encounter.
Gaston also barely acknowledges the book because he can’t read. Guess what, neither can Adam. When they encounter a woman more educated than they are, both men have the opportunity to learn more about her passion and try to engage in it themselves. But only one man actually listens to Belle read aloud and then learns to read himself, and it’s not Hunter McFuckface.
In addition, neither man can “read” Belle at the beginning. They can’t fully understand her as a person, and they have to learn her language. In learning how to read, Adam gets to know Belle better. He sees the real Belle- her inner self- and not just her outer beauty.
The man she chooses to be with is the man who she can really talk to. A man who understands her. That’s Adam.
Tl;dr: Adam is great. Fuck the patriarchy. Don’t literally fuck the patriarchy by fucking Gaston.
