One of the main purposes of fairy tales is to help children deal with the issues of growing up. While children are growing, fairy tales' exaggerations are said to be truer to a child's perception of life than realistic stories. Fairy tales teach children many essential things; however, they create a false reality for children through hidden messages about love and relationships. When looking deeper into a fairy tale's character images, the kinds of relationships described, and the definition of love, the adult reader can see how the false reality of "perfect true love" is so consistently presented in fairy tales that children are likely to be confused.
             The characters in fairy tales can be perceived in many different ways depending upon the child reader's individual views; but in almost every case, there is a strong emphasis on the heroine's physical beauty. When we look at Belle (Little Beauty), from Beauty and the Beast, she is willing to do anything to help save her father's life -- even put her own life at risk. She is portrayed as a beautiful and kind girl, admired by all the characters in the story, and willing to lend a hand to anyone in trouble. Cinderella, from the fairy tale classic "Cinderella," could be described very similarly to Belle. Although Cinderella was not admired by her stepsisters or her mother, she took a more passive role in her fairy tale. Cinderella just goes about her chores every day not saying a word to
             anyone about the unfair treatment she receives. Similarly, Belle and Cinderella are beautiful women, either described in text or visually seen, and they both fall in love at the ends of their stories. Although there is more to Belle and Cinderella than just their beauty, it is beauty that plays the largest role in making them the characters they are. The prince in "Cinderella" would not have asked Cinderella to dance if she was over...