Reading Notes (W3): Cupid and Psyche Part A

Cupid and Psyche

Cupid and Psyche in the Nuptial Bower
by Hugh Douglas    Source

The Captive Woman

• Lucius turned into donkey and used as pack animal by robbers
• old woman (part of robbers) who is story teller
• young woman (kidnapped) being comforted by old woman
• robbers assure girl she will not be harmed they just want ransom
• girl goes to sleep but wakes up crying again and the old woman is angered by this and basically says "stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about"

Her Dream

• the girl pleads for the old woman to be nicer since she is young and not used to life's misfortunes
• she reveals she was kidnapped on her wedding day to a man she has known her whole life and truly loves
• her nightmare was that while she was being kidnapped her husband tried to help and he was killed so that is why she was so distraught
• the old woman tells her to pa no mind to nightmares because dreams that occur in daytime don't come true and usually nightmares mean the opposite and agrees to tell her a story to distract her

Psyche's Beauty and the Anger of Venus

• a king and queen had 3 daughters, the older 2 were very pretty but the youngest was insanely beautiful, even beyond words, some even mistook her for the goddess Venus
• News spread that Venus was here or another mortal form of her as this girl. many traveled to see this and neglected to visit actual shrines, temples, statues, and other mementos of Venus worshiping, Psyche instead
• this angered Venus that a mortal girl could be mistaken for her and revered higher than her, especially after Paris determined she was most beautiful
• she summoned her son, Cupid, who despite common belief actually tormented lovers and drove them apart and was an over all jerk. Venus showed him Psyche asked him to do her a favor bc she is his mom, and make Psyche fall in love with the worst guy ever. someone ugly, poor, insignificant and mean
• then Venus made a dramatic af sea exit.

The Oracle of Apollo

• even though Psyche had all these people worshiping her, she gained nothing from it, she was treated as an object, and had no suitors, even her sisters got married before her and she was left alone
• her dad thought the gods were angry and had caused this so he went to the Oracle of Apollo to ask for a man to marry her.
• Oracle says that he can get someone to marry her but if she ever has kids with a mortal, they will be a monstrous winged serpent wreaking havok on mortals and gods. He told his wife this and even though they were all devastated they had to fufill the prophecy and get her married
• the wedding was more like a funeral and Psyche tells her parents to quit crying and wasting their breath and accept this to be a reward for her being so beautiful, unfortunately a reward from Envy and they should of been sad the second people mistook her for Venus because the jealousy caused this. 
• she went to the steep mountain crag and everyone left. she sobbed and was lifted by a gentle breeze and laid on a bed of flowers

The Magical Palace

• Psyche slept peacefully in the bed of flowers and woke up in a beautiful grove which had a palace in it, not of mortal creation.
• she admired the palace until working up the courage to go inside and had no issues and was surprised that there was no form of lock or protection to something so valuable
• a voice spoke to her asking why she was surprised as it was all hers and that she was welcome to make herself at home with her servants around
• she bathed and then sat for dinner when food appeared but she saw no servants. she heard their voices and music but saw no one.

The Mysterious Husband

• after eating, Psyche went to bed and late into the night heard gentle whispers and was afraid of what was coming since she knew nothing of it
• her mysterious husband had joined her in bed and they "celebrated their wedding night" leaving before morning
•  Psyche's new servants cared for her and this repeated nightly and she began to get used to the events and voices
• meanwhile, the story had spread of the prophecy and her parents were distraught so the older daughters visited home and competed to comfort them.
• One night, Psyche's husband spoke to her and told her that her family believes her to have fallen off a cliff and will soon come to lament her but that she is not to respond or reveal her self or else he will be hurt and she will bring ruin to herself.
• she agrees but when he left she cried believing she really was dead and alone from human companionship and could not even see her servants and husband and unable to console her family or see them
• she goes to bed without eating or bathing, her husband arrives and scolds her for crying and for not being happy despite everything they have and do together. He tells her to do what ever she wants but to remember his warning
• she begged him to let her see or speak to her sisters and that she would die if she doesn't. He said she could and to give them what ever they want but to heed his warning; do not yield to the bad advice of her sisters or to investigate his appearance.
• she is thankful and happier telling him that not even life or Cupid himself would compare to him and that she really does love him and asks if he would float her sisters over in the same. she then showered him with kisses and kind words which made him reluctantly agree

The Jealousy of Psyche's Sisters

• Psyches sisters go to the cliff and mourn psyche when her voice tells them not to and Zephyr whisks them to the palace
• The sisters rejoice as her sister shows them around and feeds and entertains them but they begin questioning her so she tells them her husband is a young hunter with a little bit of a beard then has them taken back so she doesn't let any info slip
• the sister's are jealous that they live far away from home and have old husbands that are boring and decide not to tell their parents she is alive and then devise a plan to make her fall from this glory

Psyche's Husband Warns Her

• mystery man tells her that her sisters are up to no good and to avoid them but if she absolutely has to see them she can't listen to them in regards to his identity. 
• if she keeps the secret their child will be divine, if she reveals it the will  be mortal
• she is pregnant and knows nothing of the troubles of child bearing, she is excited
• mystery man tells her again that her sisters are trying to kill her and to keep her promise.
• she is hurt and asks if she can see them again, she was resolute before and she will be again and won't ask about his appearance again

Fears and Doubts

• sisters arrive and don't visit parents, just jump off the cliff and are caught reluctantly by zephyr and march right into the palace and act fake nice to Psyche
• forgetting what she told her sisters last time, psyche tells the sisters her husband is a merchant from the next province over and is middle aged with a touch of grey. then plops more gifts into their hands then sends them away
• now the sisters know she is lying and will hang themselves if it turns out Psyche married a god
• the sisters visit again and remind her of the oracle and that she is married to a brutish beast and that it is rumored he will eat her after she gives birth to a monster
• this scares Psyche and she tells about how she doesn't know who her husband is and asks for help
• they tell her to take this knife and ready a lamp and reveal/stab her husband in his sleep. osyche loves her husband but is scared

Psyche's Husband Revealed

• Psyche went to do the task and discovered her husband was Cupid
• she stopped and tried to stab herself when the blade flew from her hand and she is horrified at what she has done
• she looked at Cupid's bow and accidentally cuts herself falling deeper in love with him and she showers him with affection until she fears he will wake up
• a drop of oil from the lamp wakes up Cupid and he flees and Psyche tries to cling to his leg as he flies away but she fails
• he doesn't leave completely but hides and realizes he should've just listened to Venus and engaged her to a monster instead of loving her and he seeks vengeance on the sisters and will just punish her by leaving

Psyche's Despair.

• psyche throws herself into the river which lays her gently on a flowery bank where pan and echo are hanging out
• Pan is aware of her plight and tells her that she is in the extremes of love and to not kill herself but to worship Cupid and Regain his favor
• psyche wandered further to a city where her brother-in-law was king and ask her arrival be made known to her sister who asks why she was there
• psyche explains what has happened but instead says that Cupid is leaving her for the sister by name and kicking her out which is not true. 
• the sister pretends that she heard news of the parents death and takes a ship to the cliffs and jumps off asking zephyr to taker her to her new lover, he doesn't and she dies
• same thing happens to the second sister

Bibliography

The Golden Ass, Apuleius translated by Tony Cline. Source