KG, on "Gaston - You're So Vain"

        Gaston is the picture of male vanity in Beauty and the Beast. Gaston’s true downfall is not the beast, but his own inability to see past the outer shell. The film portrays the danger of failing to look past an outer surface and to appreciate true beauty. While this message is directly delivered in the love story between Belle and the Beast the  sub-plot of Gaston’s love affair with himself is also a prime example. Gaston is flabbergasted, not because Belle could fall in love with a frightening beast, but because she did not fall in love with him. Gaston’s vanity translates into a short-sightedness that leads to his unsuccessful siege of the castle. Belle’s refusals of his multiple advances drives Gaston into an insane rage. He cannot comprehend that  anyone would be immune to his good looks and “charm.”