The Opposite Gender

"Though we adore men individually, we agree that as a group they're rather stupid."

- Marry Poppins

Belle hated men.

Every last one of them was chauvinistic, boorish and arrogant to the brim. Each man she met had one or two of these traits. Who else fit the entire criteria than Gaston?

The sexist, most conceited of them all...! He as her husband? She'd rather fall into the well. If all men were like what she saw, she might as well die an old maid in a nunnery. She, a wife just to have children, cook his meals and tend to him like a servant? He didn't even know the real her.

Besides, who needed men? They couldn't possibly be that essential to live a full life. Everyone in the village thought Belle was strange for not thinking of marriage, though she'd rather stick to her books than a catalog of husbands.

She'd thought she would always hate men... until she met Adam.

When he was the Beast, he saw the true her. Over time, she also saw his real self and learned he wasn't like the other men. Through his emotions, he didn't have that conceited air like all the other men had. He respected her like his equal. During her time with him, he rekindled her hope in men.

Ever since being with Adam, maybe men weren't so bad.