The Real Beauty And The Beast

The video explores the real-life story of Petrus Gonsalves and Catherine, who inspired the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. Unlike the Disney version, their lives were marked by exploitation and tragedy. Petrus, suffering from hypertrichosis, was treated as a curiosity in European courts. Catherine de Medici arranged his marriage to Catherine, a court servant's daughter, as a cruel joke. Despite their arranged marriage, they had seven children, four of whom inherited Petrus's condition. The family was paraded around Europe as a spectacle, highlighting the stark contrast between their reality and the fairy tale's happy ending.

How did Petrus's condition affect his education and social status?

What was the public perception of Petrus and his family during their tours across Europe?

What tragic events occurred in the lives of the Gonsalves family?

How does the real story of Beauty and the Beast differ from the Disney version?