The Beast had been bewitched by a curse, and he had a period of time to break the spell through love. However, there are certain inconsistencies because he was supposed to be 21 years old. Since it has been ten years since everyone fell under the spell, he should have been a boy when he was transformed into a monster. But the portrait that Bella finds during her tour of the palace shows a young man, so it is not clear how old he is in the present.