What does the red rose symbolize in the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast? (not the disney version)?

and if anyone has read other version of beauty and the beast in some stories there is a white rose that is supposed to be representative of the beast but im not sure why. if anyone can explain that, that would be great!What does the red rose symbolize in the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast? (not the disney version)?
The symbol of the Beast's garden and more importantly, the rose, represents the soul. The Beast protects his garden and he especially protects and worries over the rose because he is protecting the last part of his former existence, his soul. The red rose is symbolic of true love, for Beauty I suppose, or it could mean true love in a spiritual sense (the true love, or connection if you will, between the soul and the body or the soul and it's creator). And the white rose in an original version of the story means innocence. His soul was at one time innocent/young before the spell was cast.What does the red rose symbolize in the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast? (not the disney version)?
The other reply to this question is good, but incomplete.





The beast wasn't trying to protect his former life. While it may surprise you to hear this, supernatural creatures (especially in stories) are not compelled to tell the truth unless it is necessary. While the old woman/fairy might have made the Beast 'believe' the rose was connected to his past life, it was really connected to his future life. The rose is not a token of his past, it is a harbinger of his future, it is a clock that counts backwards.





The color of the rose changed from the adaptation of the story not because the metaphor changed (the rose doesn't so much represent one person, per se, but many) but because the meaning behind the color changed. Colors are very much culturally connected, and when cultures change their values, they change what colors mean. Love, at one point in the cultural history, meant purity, not passion, which meant that its color representation would be white. Snow White and Rose Red are really two sides of the same princess.





The rose does not represent the beast and it does not represent belle. The rose represents what the beast and belle will become, together. That is why it counts backwards. If the rose only represented a single person, it would continue the same pattern of 'selfishness' and self-interest that allowed the beast to be condemned in the first place. Again, the beast is allowed to think of the rose in whatever way he sees fit, but allowing someone to think of an object as representing something, and what the thing actually represents, are two different things altogether.





In all actuality, the rose doesn't so much die as it becomes 'absorbed' into the bond that develops between the beast and belle. That is why it can count backwards: as the relationship develops, as they take those steps towards each other, both need the presence of the rose to guide them less and less. The time frame the old woman/fairy gives the beast is merely an impetus, something to move the plot along. Give someone an eternity to decide what kind of side they want and they'll take a long time to decide. Stick a gun to their head and count to three and they'll suddenly realize how much they like mashed potatoes with their spicy chicken. Same difference.