The thing that initially caught my attention about this story was how they described the place Psyche was being held. While it was a prison to her, it was described so lavishly that it would seem that she shouldn't have the right to say that. In my opinion, this is an analogy for how money cannot buy you happiness. She is almost tricked into this whole lifestyle, but then when he tells her she cannot see her sisters, she realizes how upset she really is there. But, time after time again she goes back to him. He gives her physical things but lacks the emotional needs that she had with her family before she was taken prisoner. As the story progresses further, the theme of jealousy presents itself. The sisters are jealous of her and all that she now has, while it almost seems as if Cupid is jealous of her sisters. But this is what plays out the rest of the story.
This story almost just makes you stop and think about what kinds of things give you true happiness. She was taken as a prisoner of love, and yet she continues to do anything for him to make him happy. And it also makes you think what the point of this story was for the Romans. Why would this kind of story be told to them? If in the end Psyche becomes immortal, then what is the true message to the mortal people of the audience this story was meant for? I had a hard time deciding the answers to these questions. To me, the time period would definitely have to be an answer for this. In today's society if a women was held a prisoner of love, marrying him and becoming immortal would not be the ideal "happy ending." While this is definitely fairy tale vibes, it almost is a lot darker when told this way. And, this story was told within a story as to be comforting to another prisoner. It was overall pretty confusing, but definitely good things to get the mind thinking. It is also really interesting to see how stories like this have evolved over time and continue to change and fit in with the current audience. Maybe another possibility for a story in the future would be to have Psyche escape from Cupid while still becoming immortal and then helping prevent things like this from happening to others.
Bibliography: The story of Cupid and Psyche from the Roman novel, The Golden Ass, by Apuleius; translated from Latin by Tony Kline
This story almost just makes you stop and think about what kinds of things give you true happiness. She was taken as a prisoner of love, and yet she continues to do anything for him to make him happy. And it also makes you think what the point of this story was for the Romans. Why would this kind of story be told to them? If in the end Psyche becomes immortal, then what is the true message to the mortal people of the audience this story was meant for? I had a hard time deciding the answers to these questions. To me, the time period would definitely have to be an answer for this. In today's society if a women was held a prisoner of love, marrying him and becoming immortal would not be the ideal "happy ending." While this is definitely fairy tale vibes, it almost is a lot darker when told this way. And, this story was told within a story as to be comforting to another prisoner. It was overall pretty confusing, but definitely good things to get the mind thinking. It is also really interesting to see how stories like this have evolved over time and continue to change and fit in with the current audience. Maybe another possibility for a story in the future would be to have Psyche escape from Cupid while still becoming immortal and then helping prevent things like this from happening to others.
Bibliography: The story of Cupid and Psyche from the Roman novel, The Golden Ass, by Apuleius; translated from Latin by Tony Kline
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