The Beast

From his first introduction, the Beast is sentient and capable of human speech. He originally appeared to be irritable, spoiled, selfish, and temperamental, and came off as very hostile, even towards his servants. Yet he also had a very bitter outlook on his life and was quick to become frustrated and pitch a fit when things did not work his way, showing a spoiled side to his personality. Though these sides of his personality seemed contradictory, they both stemmed from his upbringing as a prince, since his privileged life made him selfish and inconsiderate during his youth, and also led to his curse in the first place when he refused to offer hospitality to strangers. The Beast's dire situation only exacerbated his temperamental nature further but introduced a deep sense of insecurity and shame because of what his past actions had cost him.

The Beast's greatest conflict was dealing with his hideous appearance and the retention of his humanity. Although he desired to break the curse, the Beast's dual nature made him truly uncertain of ever becoming human again, especially when many could not even recognize him as once being human. The Beast was ashamed of the monstrous aspect of himself; it was a reminder of both what he had done and what he had become. His shame held a stronghold on him, where often the first thing that often set off his temper was when others reacted to his appearance or his inhuman instincts. These cases created a self-fulfilling cycle, where the Beast reacted with a vicious behavior because he was seen as a vicious creature. Despite appearing infuriated when this became an issue, it was indicated that he could feel guilty for his behavior afterward.

Though the Beast is stubborn and lacks manners, he is not without a kind side; the Beast can care for others but has difficulty in overcoming his own flaws to express empathy. In addition, his temper belies the Beast's naivety with the world and how to display his feelings towards it. As a side effect of the curse, he was somewhat primal and had a habit of animalistic behavior, from serious social regressions like growling and roaring when angry to arbitrary, slightly humorous traits like forgetting his table manners or shaking himself when wet to dry off. The Beast is not of any one species of animal, but a chimera, a mixture of several animals. He has the head structure and horns of a buffalo, the arms, claws and body of a bear, the eyebrows of a gorilla, the jaws and mane of a lion, the tusks of a wild boar and the legs, teeth, and tail of a wolf. The Beast also bears resemblance to mythical monsters like the Minotaur or a werewolf. His size was described by Maurice to be close to 10 feet (3.05 meters). The fur of the Beast has three distinct variations. The main colour of his body is light brown. His neck mane, front hair line, forehead, elbow hair and ears are sepia. His nose and beard are amber. His brows are pale ivory and his mascara and horns are hickory. He also has blue eyes, the one physical feature that does not change whether he is a beast or a human. Originally, the Beast is seen shirtless, with ragged, dark gray breeches, and a ragged reddish-colored cape with a golden-colored circular-shaped clasp.