"The Courtship Of Mr Lyon" and the gender roles of Beauty and of Beast

The Courtship Of Mr Lyon, one of two Angela Carter's stories based on the well-known story of The Beauty and the Beast begins with the Beauty fitting in all the feminine gender standards and roles and the Beast fitting in seamlessly into the masculine ones. 

Only with the story enfolding - the more unconventional traits of these characters are displayed. 

At first Beauty is "lovely" and delicate. She sees herself as "Miss Lamb, spotless, sacrificial"; obeying and loving her father so dearly she is "possessed by a sense of obligation to an unusual degree". As those character traits resemble the submissive character, commonly associated with the feminine gender roles. 

Nevertheless, throughout the story Beauty changes. After moving to London, a city of wealth and technology (commonly connoted more with masculine traits) with the sudden fortune of her father, she undergoes a character development. Loosing her purity, "her face was acquiring, instead of beauty, a lacquer of the invincible prettiness that characterizes certain pampered, exquisite, expensive cats." Her authentic beauty fades away with the convenient-city life, her personality becomes vain, yet she changes and invents herself again. She becomes the active character within the story that rushes back to the Beast, as she discovers he is in danger. 

Similarly, the Beast begins displaying his assigned roles. He represents masculinity with his anger, violence and the strength of his beastly, vast body. He is said to be "more beautiful by far than we [humans] are", but arising fear in Beauty with his wildness. 

Yet Beast is also severely lonely, only with a spaniel keeping him company. As he gets to know Beauty his shyness and even submissiveness to the Beauty comes to view. When he kissed her hands "he flung himself at her feet and buried his head in her lap" then escapes embarrassed. 

When Beauty lives his house, he is the one waiting, alienated in a vast mansion, slowly dying and patently waiting for her to come back. 

The situation presented by Angela Carter in the story reminds one of the fairly tales' princess waiting for her prince to rescue her. However it is the loyal Beast who needs to be rescued by the vain but pretty girl. 

The story ends with Beast transforming into Mr Lyon - a man with "a broken nose, such as the noses of retired boxers that gave his a distant, heroic resemblance to the handsomest of all the beasts." Although, Beauty ends up becoming Mrs Lyon - a wife of Mr Lyon - just as a cliche feminine character - she is the one who could ensure the happy ending of the story.