la bête avenant

One of the most striking changes from the de Beaumont version of 'Beauty and the Beast' to Cocteau's "La Belle et la Bête" is the transformation of the Beast into a gussied up version of Avenant. After some extensive wikipedia-ing and babelfishing research, I have found a couple of interesting things, firstly, the actor who plays Avenant also plays the Beast, and he was also the 'lifetime companion' of Cocteau. Take this as you will, but it makes a lot of sense to give the most important parts to such an important figure in your life. But also, the name Avenant in itself is French for "pleasant or good looking." Is it not funny that the beast turns into Handsome for his Beauty? At first I thought this transformation was a bit ridiculous. But the more I think of it, the more I believe that it was a genius decision.
The beast became over time, more and more human. He tried to suppress his need to hunt and kill. He treated Beauty well, and pined for her when she left. As he lay dying, he accepted all his shortcomings and felt sorry for them. However, over time, Avenant became more and more like a beast. He, too, tried to woo Beauty into marrying him, to no avail. But he went from a handsome friend, into an evil muderous plotter, once he heard of the Beast's fortune. Once the two halves of the same man were in the same place, they had to become unified. The Beast, the wild animal, died for the love of a woman, a human romantic ideal. Avenant, the human, died at the hands of Diana (goddess of the hunt, coincidence? I think not), as he tried to steal the wealth of another. They changed places, and by doing so, The Beast was able to be reborn as his true self, handsome, and pleasant, Avenant. Even at the end, when the Beast asks Beauty if she minds that he looks like Avenant, she plays the same game she used to play with Avenant himself.
The beastly parts of Avenant died with the body of the Beast in the Temple of Diana, while the ugly parts of the Beast melted away to reveal the handsomeness of Avenant. Both men unified created a man worthy of Beauty in character, virtue, wit, wealth, and appearance. Together with Beauty, their story transcends all age and time.