Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-26018039-20150329230148/@comment-4975807-20150831222418

DavidTennantismyAngel wrote: Belle doesn't really strike me as *smart*, just educated, if you know what I mean. She falls for Rumple's lies every single time, and back in the Enchanted Forest, she couldn't use common sense and figure out that her mom was killed by ogres and went on this pointless quest that nearly got Anna killed.

Don't get me wrong, I love her, but sometimes her naivety and tendency to leap before she looks annoys me. But I guess everyone has flaws, right? I definitely think love does blind people, even those who try to be very careful and not be influenced by their spouse or signifcant other. Belle is emotionally attached to Mr. Gold, and though she has said she knew what she was getting into by marrying and staying with him, her trademark of always believing there is good in someone even if he isn't good most of the time is a flaw that works against her sometimes. My opinion is she overlooked Mr. Gold and chose to believe him every time because of her trademark of honestly believing there is good in Mr. Gold. That's not to say there isn't good in him, but she definitely trusted him enough not to question him.

With how Belle's mother got killed, I do think Belle was somewhat justified in going on that journey to regain her lost memories because the way it played on screen, her father would literally not tell her anything about what happened, and she only knew that her mother somehow died. At the same time, this is the part of Belle's personality that often when she gets on something, she doesn't let it go until she gets to the bottom of it. In that sense, she's kinda stubborn. She probably did have a nagging thought in her head, like, how did my mother die? and wanting to know everything by regaining her memories since her father just wouldn't tell her anything. I guess because he wasn't giving her any clear answers, she sought them elsewhere.