Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-11058666-20150829005318

A lot of people think that Belle is an idiot because she keeps coming back to her evil lover, Rumplestiltskin, a pathetic, cowardly, horrible, self-centered villain. They also think she's an idiot because her gullible nature and naivety can be a bit extreme, and she's determined to see the good in everyone to the point of ridiculousness sometimes.

Nobody acknowledges the fact that she was locked in an asylum for thirty solid years in Storybrooke. She should be completely insane, and yet she's not. My friend said once that Tsar Ivan VI was locked up for 23 years, and by the end of it, he was mute and drooled like a baby. Also, she did not spent any time in the actual town, so she didn't know anything about the real world, she only knew about the Enchanted Forest. She was thrown out into a strange new realm after being condemned to a cell for decades with no memory. She was mindless and imprisoned for so long.

I know that reading books doesn't necessarily make you smart, but it definitely makes you knowledgeable. And Belle doesn't just read, she uses the information from books to solve mysteries and draw conclusions. She's perceptive. But the fact that she's so into books is probably why she appears to have her head stuck in the clouds. She's a dreamer despite what the world throws at her when everyone else has let the world harden them into bitter cynics. Some delusions keep people sane. She doesn't want to acknowledge the fact that nobody has ever truly loved her or the fact that people have abused her every time she tried to be a hero. She was always so certain that if she kept on reading her books, loving people despite her flaws, doing the right thing, and just pushing through life, things would work out. She's an extreme optimist, that's all.

People always judge her for staying with Rumple, but be honest. What does she actually have, outside of him? As soon as the deal to be his servant was struck, the path to pouring all her heart and soul into him began. There was nothing for her, before she met him. She lived in a land controlled by the patriarchy and thought she would never get the chance to be brave and heroic, since she was a woman, and she was forced into an arranged marriage. But with him, she felt like she didn't need to go on adventures or be brave to be happy, because she finally found somebody who understood her and loved and respected her for who she was. This is what keeps drawing her to him, to this day. The evil in him always pushes her away, but the good in him draws her back. Outside of Rumple, she has a father who is so controlling that he actually tried to erase her memories to get her to end a relationship with another man. She has a judgmental town of people who would sooner betray her than be her friend. All she really has, outside of him, is her job as a librarian, money, and clothes. That's practically nothing, compared to what others have. 