The diploma thesis focused on the fairy tale Beauty and the
Beast, which is based on the myth about Cupid and Psyche by the
Roman philosopher Lucia Apuleio. The aim of this thesis is to
compare the selected versions of Beauty and the Beast (the myth
Cupid and Psyche, the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast by
Charles Perrault, the films by Jean Cocteau and by Fabrizio
Costa) and then examine their nature. Based on the narrative of
the story this thesis deals with the character of the Beast and
examines its hidden values in the ancient and medieval world.
Pays attention to the beast and is focused on human and bestial
aspects of man and medieval art, however the most importantly
on inner and outer beauty and the relation between beauty and
ugliness. The primary sources of the thesis are articles The
Value of Man and the Origin of Morality by J. M. Rist and
Beauty in the Beasts: A study of medieval aesthetics by Debra
Hassig, further the Plato’s dialogue Symposium and the ideas of
St Augustine at Karel Svoboda’s book Estetika svatého Augustina
a její zdroje.