Gaston is the village bully whose good looks have earned him an eager following among the local girls. Although he could have any of them he sets his heart - or what passes for it - on Belle, the prettiest girl in the village and the only one who is able to see how unpleasant the muscle-bound man really is. As Linda Woolverton says, Gaston is a mirror-image of the Beast, "As the story evolves the two switch places - the Beast becomes more human, and Gaston's beastly nature is revealed."