[1] A merchant loses all his money when his ships are lost at sea, and is forced to move his three daughters to a lonely countryside house called Rose Cottage which was left to his youngest, Beauty, in a will, and thus is not subject to his creditors.

Before his journey, he asks his daughters what presents they would like him to bring back, and Beauty requests a rose, as her bush has not blossomed that year.

Beauty stays at the house for what seems to be seven days, during which she revives the roses in the Beast's greenhouse and calls small creatures (bats, birds, frogs/toads, hedgehogs) back to the palace.

Beauty, distressed at missing so much of her sisters' lives, begs Beast to allow her to return home to visit.

[5] McKinley, having written several other adaptations of fairy tales and folktales, utilizes these works as personal retellings.

"[7]In comparing it to McKinley's previous adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, Kathryn Harrison wrote in The New York Times, "Ironically, this reworking has disabled the fairy tale, robbing it of tension and meaning, and creating for her readers a less usable enchantment.

[10] Rose Daughter can be classified as a Bildungsroman, another classification system that interacts with folklore specifically, as Beauty reaches a coming-of-age through the course of the novel.