witches in Beauty and the Beast

so... in class today, we were talking about how, after the Protestant Reformation, people no longer needed the poor so that they could do good deeds and so that the poor would pray on their behalf.  If a poor woman came begging at someone's door, they would be turned away and occasionally mutter under their breath.  Then, when something bad happened in the homeowner's life, he would blame the poor woman, because she was obviously a witch that put a spell on him.  This reminded me of my favorite movie, Beauty and the Beast!!  Remember the prologue:

Once upon a time, in a far away land, a young prince lived in a shining castle.  Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind.  Then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle, and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold.  Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift, and turned the old woman away.  But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances.  And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to become a beautiful enchantress.  The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart, and as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous creature and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there.  Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world.  The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose which would bloom until his twenty first year.  If he could learn to love another and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken.  If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time.  As the years passed, the prince fell into despair and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast?





Although it is not the same, because  the witch was trying to see if he was kind or not, and she was actually a witch and not a poor beggar woman, I thought it was pretty similar to the story told in class.

and here is the link to the youtube video because I love love love Beauty and the Beast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__x8CYAVMbk