Lindsay Ellis: And I honestly hate to point out historical accuracy issues in a Disney movie because I do not care. I realize that this is a sticking point for a lot of people complaining about the accuracy of the era that inspired the film but I don't care. Boy, there's no depth to how much I don't care about that line of thinking. However, since the movie decides to play up the historical aspect of the film and decides to definitively set the film in a period of French history that wasn't looking too bright for absolute fucking monarchs...
[Clip plays of Lumiere making a guillotine joke]
Lindsay Ellis: Female literacy was not a thing that was exactly frowned upon in this particular culture in this particular period of history. There were lots of magazines specifically for young women. The original Beauty and the Beast was even published in one of those magazines.