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Although Beaumont’s “Beauty and the Beast” teaches that love redeems moral flaws through a woman’s virtue, Trung Le Nguyen’s The Magic Fish reimagines transformation as a form of healing rather than fixing morals. By shifting from a romantic to a familial form of love, Nguyen challenges the idea that people must change to be loved, showing how love allows authenticity and acceptance within oneself.

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Two open books — Beauty and the Beast and The Magic Fish — surrounded by hearts and mirrors.

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Both stories explore love that sees beyond appearance, yet define transformation differently.

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Both stories explore love that sees beyond appearance, yet define transformation differently.

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Both Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont and The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen explore the idea that love and acceptance require seeing beyond appearance. However, while Beaumont presents love as a force that redeems moral flaws through virtue, Nguyen transforms this concept into one of emotional healing and authenticity. By shifting from romantic to familial love, The Magic Fish redefines what it means to be “transformed”, not as a change of form or morality, but as a process of self-acceptance.

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Beauty looks kindly at the Beast hiding his face; the rose wilts behind them.

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The Beast’s monstrous form reflects inner flaws. Beauty’s virtue helps redeem him.

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In Beaumont’s “Beauty and the Beast,” the Beast’s monstrous appearance symbolizes his inner imperfections and past moral failings. Beauty’s compassion and virtue allow her to see past his frightening exterior to the kindness within. Her love functions as a moral cure, redeeming the Beast and ultimately restoring his human form. Transformation here acts as a reward for goodness and love, suggesting that being worthy of affection requires moral correction.

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The Beast transforms into a prince while Beauty watches in awe, symbolizing redemption.

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Transformation is a reward for moral growth and purity.

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Transformation is a reward for moral growth and purity.

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When Beauty declares her love for the Beast despite his ugliness, his physical change into a prince reinforces the message that love redeems and purifies. The transformation serves as a reward for moral and emotional growth, implying that change is necessary to become “deserving” of love. Beaumont’s tale thus connects love with the idea of moral perfection and virtue-driven change.

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Tien and his mother reading together; magical fish swirl around them as fantasy merges with reality.

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Nguyen redefines transformation as emotional healing and understanding.

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Nguyen redefines transformation as emotional healing and understanding.

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In contrast, The Magic Fish challenges this idea of transformation as moral redemption. Tien and his mother navigate identity, language, and cultural barriers through fairy tales that mirror their real lives. Transformation in Nguyen’s story represents healing and understanding rather than fixing flaws. Through storytelling, Tien learns that he does not need to change who he is to deserve love.

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Tien hugs his mother after coming out; light shines around them as fairy-tale imagery fades into reality.

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Love allows authenticity, not correction.

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Love allows authenticity, not correction.

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The magical fish and fairy tales help Tien express his queerness to his mother, showing that love allows one to be authentic rather than forcing change to be accepted. When Tien finally opens up, his mother’s love does not “fix” him instead, it bridges the silence between them, creating space for empathy and truth. Nguyen reimagines transformation as healing a process that embraces rather than erases difference.

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Beauty and Tien facing mirrors — Beauty’s reflection turns into the Beast fading away; Tien’s reflection shines as his true self.

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One story redeems; the other heals. Both show love beyond appearance.

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One story redeems; the other heals. Both show love beyond appearance.

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Ultimately, both stories teach that love requires looking beyond appearance, but they differ in how they interpret what transformation means. Beaumont’s tale suggests that love corrects and redeems, while Nguyen’s narrative proposes that love heals and reveals. By transforming the idea of change from external to internal, Nguyen shows that acceptance does not demand perfection it asks only for understanding. Love, in the end, is not about becoming someone else, but about being seen as who you truly are.