Reading Notes: Cupid and Psyche part A

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Psyche and Cupid
from Wikimedia Commons
  • Story within a story, I really like that. The narrator is a man who was turned into a donkey and then the narrator of this particular story is an old woman comforting a younger woman.
  • "Dreams that come in daytime are untrue" I like this phrase and also how the old woman says a nightmare usually brings good luck.
  • The interweaving between mortals, and goddesses is fun and much more interesting than a story only about deities. 
  • Venus summoning her son Cupid is just like when the Fairy Godmother in Shrek 2 summons prince charming to lure Fiona. A crazy family affair. 
  • This story has amazing details, especially when describing the grandeur of the castle that Psyche sees for the first time. You can truly picture what is being described from the furniture to the shrubbery. 
  • The main villain in this story is Envy. There is not a physical being who causes most of the trouble, but the feeling of jealousy is the reason why bad things keep happening. The original villain is Venus, then becomes the two sisters. It is also interesting that both protagonist and antagonists are women.
  • Her sisters that she loved and trusted are now plotting against her, but Psyche throughout all of this remains optimistic and kindhearted. She is truly a good person and none of these bad things deserve to happen to her because her beauty is not her fault.
  • The wordplay is amazing, she fell in love with Love himself, she had desire for Desire
  • All of the minor characters make this story interesting like Pan, Echo, and Zephyr. It would be boring without them. They do things that the main characters can't and are equally as important to the plot line.
  • The death of the sisters was shocking yet what they deserved, I like how Psyche remains a strong character and takes matters into her own hands. She is a true heroine, and her husband Cupid pretty much does nothing for her.


Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche from The Golden Ass, Source

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