Essay for Week 2: Love. It's complicated.

Cupid and Psyche by Joshua Reynolds, via Wikimedia Commons

I really enjoyed the readings in the Cupid and Psyche unit. I chose this unit because I love Greek/Roman mythology and because in the overview it was compared to the "Beauty and the Beast." I got the "Beauty and the Beast" vibe for the first half and then it lost that when Psyche discovered who her husband was. I would like to take a moment to compare the two sisters to the traditional "evil step-sisters" that are in stories. As in other stories, these evil sisters are trying to ruin the happiness of their sister. If these two cannot be happy with their lives, than neither can Psyche. My least favorite story this unit is Venus and Psyche. I really hate how Venus still tortures Psyche while she is pregnant with Venus's grandchild. It is not Psyche's fault that Cupid fell in love with her and it definitely is not the baby's fault. My favorite story this unit is Psyche's Husband Revealed. I hate that Psyche doesn't listen to Cupid and that gets her into trouble. However, I admire the courage it must have taken Psyche to look at what she believed was a monster. I also find it hilarious that she was so mesmerized by her husband that she let the candle wax drip and burn Cupid. The candle is a "poor servant to Love." This situation sounds like something that would happen to me. I love how the author introduced the characters in this unit. He takes a couple paragraphs just to describe how beautiful Psyche is and another paragraph to portray the despicable creature that Cupid is. I appreciate details because this really helps me picture exactly what I am reading. One thing about this unit that I thought was weird was when Psyche falls into "death sleep." It doesn't elaborate on how long she was like that. Was it five minutes or five years?  I really find it surprising that this unit has a happy ending. I thought that most Greek/Roman mythology stories ended badly for the main characters. I guess it ended up well for Cupid and Psyche though.

Storytelling for Week 2: Dream a Little Dream

The sky was so clear that when you looked up all you saw was the twinkling light from the stars. I am running but I am not sure what from anymore. Suddenly, I am in a beautiful meadow. The grass flows in the wind like waves in the ocean. The flowers are fragrant and vibrant with colors I have never seen before. Somewhere a robin is singing a song and the bees buzz in harmony. I grab a flower that is purple with yellow splotches and tuck it behind my ear. "This place is so delightful," I say to no one in particular, "I could stay here forever and be happy!" Laughing I lay in the grass and stretch my arms out wide. Whoever or whatever I was running away from before was no longer my problem. Somehow I know that everything will be just fine if I stay in this meadow.

Out of the corner of my eyes I see a shadow. I whip around to see what might be watching me. Nothing. "Who's there?" I cry out. Something rustled near by. With my heart pounding in my chest I yell, "I'm not afraid!" My voice fails me and it comes out more like a croak than a roar. Next to the trees, on the outskirts of the meadow I see the shadow step forward. "What do you want? Who are you?" The shadow does not move. "Show me your face!" I command. I hear a man's laugh. "Don't you remember Psyche?" says the voice. "That's what got you in this mess in the first place." The man stepped into the meadow, his golden hair glistening in the sunlight. "Cupid?!" I say with relief. "Yes! You remember!" he replies with a smile and a kiss on the cheek. "It's time to wake up sweetheart." I look around at the meadow and glance at my hands. Shaking my head in confusion I reply, "What do you mean? I feel awake.""No Psyche," Cupid stated gently, "You opened the jar of what you thought was beauty, but it was really Stygian sleep." Looking around at the meadow, I know he is right. This place cannot be real, it is too perfect. "Okay how do I wake up?" "That is easy" he says as he gingerly cups my face into his hands. "Close your eyes and count to three." Closing my eyes I count to three. I wake up to Cupid holding me. "Thank goodness you are alright!" he declares while engulfing me in a bear hug. "Now," he says, "let's go talk to my uncle. We have a wedding to plan!"

Wedding Banquet of Cupid and Psyche by Raffaello Sanzio from Web Gallery of Art

Author's note: I chose to base this weeks storytelling off of The Sleep of the Dead from the story of "Cupid and Psyche" by Apuleius. Psyche has been given different tasks from Venus as punishment for hurting and loving her son Cupid. Her latest punishment is to get a jar of beauty from the underworld. After escaping the underworld Psyche decides to try a little bit of the beauty, but the jar isn't what it seems. Instead of beauty, the jar held sleep. This made Psyche very tired. In the original story, there is not a lot said about what happened when she was asleep. It only says she went to sleep and was later reawakened by her lover, Cupid. I wanted to focus more on what Psyche was experiencing during her "death sleep." I felt that it should be a place that she would never want to leave and that the only reason she would leave is because Cupid came for her. My version is a "true love conquers all" kind of a story where love can defeat all types of darkness.

Bibliography: "Cupid and Psyche" from Apuleius's Golden Ass translation by Tony Kline (2013) Web Source: Untextbook

Week 2: Reading Diary- Cupid and Psyche

Psyche's Beauty

I cannot believe Psyche is letting people treat her like a goddess. I mean, I am sure it is really nice. However, nothing good can come of it. I also thought it was really interesting how Cupid is introduced as "doing not an ounce of good." This doesn't sound anything like the cute cupid we see everywhere on valentines day. In this story he is going into battle to ruin life with love, not to create love into something that makes life beautiful.

The Mysterious Husband

It's weird to me that you can fall in love with someone without seeing what they look like or even knowing their name. It's not that I don't think you can love without seeing your significant other. I just think that if I was with a guy and he wouldn't tell me his name or let me see his face, I would be slightly creeped out.

The Jealousy of Psyche's Sisters

I am fairly certain that it would have been much better for Psyche if she had just let her sisters mourn her death. Her sharing her treasures and creating what her husband looks like just created a monster within her sisters.

Psyche's Husband Revealed

The stupid lamp! It ruined everything! I love how the lamp is blamed in the story even though we know that Cupid told her all along not to look at him and to not listen to her sisters. In the end it was Psyche's fault for deciding she needed to look upon her husbands face.

Venus and Psyche

I don't like how Venus doesn't offer Psyche any slack at all. She is pregnant and Venus still has her beaten and tortured! I do love that the ants took pity on her and the "six-footed folk" helped Psyche complete her first task given to her by Psyche.

The Third Task

I think it is interesting that to test Psyche's bravery, Venus sent her to the place the gods themselves fear. Venus was obviously setting Psyche up for an ultimate fail and most likely Psyche's death. I love the Eagles bravery to help poor Psyche. He is willing to go to somewhere awful to honor his relationship with Cupid and to protect Cupid's wife.

Jar of Beauty

It is so weird that when Psyche is about to give up on life, something tells her what to do. A thing. I think that I would be very concerned if I heard a tower talking to me. I think it is interesting that part of the challenge sent by Venus is to have Psyche not help others. She is not allowed to help the lame driver or help some women weave. I CANNOT believe that Psyche would be so stupid as to try to use some divine beauty for herself. After all she has been through, you would think she would learn to do as she is told.

The Sleep of the Dead

I am completely shocked that the sleep that was in the vial did not last long. I was expecting Psyche to be out for some time and perhaps make this Beauty and the Beast story combine with Sleeping Beauty. I love that when Cupid asks Jupiter for help Jupiter tells Cupid all the reasons he should not help him. Only to then agree to help him if Cupid can get a beautiful woman for Jupiter.

The Wedding Feast

I cannot believe that this story had a happy ending! I was expecting the baby to be the weird serpent from the prophecy. I am also wondering what happened with the prophecy. I mean I thought that was a big thing with the Greek/Roman stories. The prophecy might not always end up in a way you would expect, but I thought they were still supposed to be dead on. I will also be honest, I forgot about the beginning with the old woman and the girl that was kidnapped. I was kind of confused when it went back into that story.