Symbolism and the Rose

What does the rose symbolize?

The enchanted rose in Beauty and the Beast is an object imbued with meaning.

Functionally, we know the rose to represent a ticking clock. As it wilts, the stakes raise for the Beast and all the Enchanted Objects. The rose is the physical reminder that their last chance to become human again is slipping away.

Symbolically, the rose can represent many things. Roses in fairy tales have been used to signify passion, love, innocence, luxury and desire. They had a special significance in Greek mythology. According to legend, roses were created by Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. They grew from her tears and the blood of her lover – Adonis. Cleopatra VII, probably inspired by the mythical origins of roses, would throw rose petals during public appearances. She wanted to be remembered as a goddess who smelled like roses.

The wilting rose in Beauty and the Beast strongly echoes other dying flowers in art, particularly those used in vanitas paintings. By looking at the rose and other enchanted items in Beauty and the Beast through the lens of vanitas tradition, we may be able to draw further symbolic meaning from them.

Vanitas by Adriaen van Utrecht

A Vanitas Still Life by Peeter Sion

Vanitas is a genre of still life painting popular in northern Europe during the 16th to 18th centuries. The term vanitas comes from the first line of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible:

"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity."

Vanitas paintings are still life pieces that include a collection symbolic, luxurious objects, all of which are designed to remind the viewer of their mortality and of the worthlessness of worldly goods and pleasures. They often include dying flowers and other objects that we might find in around the Beauty and the Beast castle.

Some of those objects include:

Time pieces (clocks, hourglasses, watches) – Cogsworth
Candles – Lumiere
Mirrors – the enchanted mirror
Chipped crockery or glassware – Chip
Books – the Beast’s library
Dust – Babette the feather duster
Glass – the glass dome that covers the rose
Luxurious objects like fancy clothes, tapestries, and jewelry – all over the castle!

In our production of Beauty and the Beast, the Beast's decaying castle is present on the set at all times. As the characters slowly transform into the objects they were enchanted to be, the vanitas painting emerges, each character a walking reminder of the curse of indulging in worldly pleasures and beauties.