The story of Cupid and Psyche is one of love ,sacrifice,jealousy,despair and eternal joy.Psyche is the youngest and of three mortal maidens.Like in so many modern stories,
fairytales,the youngest and the fairest is cursed with divine beauty which ends up upsetting a more powerful,often evil female figure(Venus it this case;a goddess.)All mortals are looking upon Psyches' beauty as something not even the goddess can outdo,therefore they stop worshiping Venus in temples.Venus happens to have a son,Cupid(who Venus asked for help to charm Psyche and make her fall in love with the most awful creature) who upon seeing Psyche falls in love with her,as if piercing his own heart ,but disguises himself due to his divine, immortal nature( a reoccurrence in characters: young lovers and a reoccurrence in themes:forbidden love.)Psyche is carried by Zephyr,the wind, to a mansion where she will be treated like a goddess and will be with her unseen ,but felt husband to be,Cupid.When psyche is told by her sisters of her husbands mysterious and possibly dangerous nature (it is quite strange she never got to see him),Psyche is given the idea to kill him .Instead she sees him and falls into deeper love with her husband ,Cupid,the god of love himself.Cupid,revealed as a god becomes angry and flees to his mother.Venus is made even more jealous,and angered as her son reveals his love for Psyche to her. Meanwhile Psyche sets out on a journey to search(a lonely journey by a protagonist is a vital part of any adventure and love story) for her lover simultaneously searching for Venus and her forgiveness.Once at Venus' feet,Psyche is to fulfill perilous impossible tasks (which is her desperate Road of Trials ).Psyche is also sent to the underworld where she was to fetch some of Proserpine's beauty for Venus(Psyche opened the box to make herself more beauteous for Cupid).The god realized Psyches love and they got married.Psyche was made immortal.
Stories of divine beauty and love are often spiced up by the dramatic interaction of gods and their human-like emotions.The gods manipulate,fall in love with and loathe mortals for their fragile ,finite nature.It is enticing for us to read stories like Cupid and Psyche it makes us feel superior as mortals.Mythology is the interaction between the mortals and the gods,and so many adventure stories and love stories arise from that!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think Psyche is one of the few female heroes in Greek mythology, and her story is definitely an interesting one. It demonstrates both the weaknesses as well as strengths of the human nature. One of the obvious faults would be the jealousy of Psyche's sister which sets this whole mess into motion. However, a strength would be the love Psyche experiences. Very rarely do you hear stories about the gods or goddesses undergoing trials for their human lover; it is always the human who demonstrates their love. Personally, I think it is because the gods are incapable of feeling as strongly and as passionately as humans do, and that is what draws so many of the gods and goddesses to human relationships. Wouldn't it be something to read about the gods undergoing the Heroes Journey?
ReplyDeleteThat is the tragic thing ...mortals are always stuck in trial and in suffering caused by the gods.Mortals are not fully innocent ,however.Mortals often vex and challenge the gods whether intentional or not.More than that, mortals also love to be challenged by ones greater than them.While reading Hercules I also noticed that a human life is a constant search,and a struggle to find harmony in a world ruled by gods.Hercules found his own mortality to be existent, others search for love,beauty,or revenge.Every time we read a myth,we are also enticed by what the hero is looking for and whether or not he or she will find it.
ReplyDeleteI think that is what draws us to read these myths, and even any story these days. We are drawn to make that human connection and empathize with the characters.
ReplyDeleteOn a slightly unrelated note, have you read the novel East by Edith Pattou? It is based off a Norwegian folk tale, and in it, the main character, Rose, spends the night with a mysterious stranger, and once again, she faces the insatiable curiosity to find out who this stranger is, despite many warnings not to. Of course, her actions prove to be her downfall, and she has to set out on a quest to save her lover and regain his trust. I hope I'm not alone in thinking that this is very similar to Psyche's story. To me, it's interesting that a Norwegian folk tale and a Greek myth would have so much in common.