Week 2: Reading Diary, Cupid and Psyche

Cupid and Psyche

-This is a framework story, beginning with a kidnapped princess and her old caretaker.

-The girl reveals she was kidnapped on her wedding day and that she fears for her betrothed, who she loves very much.

-Psyche is like the prettiest thing ever and everyone loves her face.

-Venus is very angry and becomes violent, like we expect from the Greek/Roman gods.

-Cupid is wild and crazy, just like his cartoons but more grown up crazy (adultery and such).

-Venus, Cupid’s mother, shows him her problem, Psyche.

-Venus tells Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with a horrible and pitiful man.

-Psyche does not like her beauty because everyone just wants to look at her and admire her, but no one wants to marry her.

- An oracle foretold of the plans that Venus had for Psyche and that her life would soon be over. Her parents were very sad since they will not see her daughter.

-The oracle makes it seem like she will be miserable and that her child will be a monster, but they always tend to be overdramatic.

-Psyche was brave and went to face her fate head on. Likely that is what the old woman wants the kidnapped girl to do.

-She is delighted to be transported to the palace of a god, lavishly cared for by invisible servants. Things are never as bad as the oracles say they will be, at least not yet.

-Her husband sleeps with her at night and has sex with her, but leaves without ever talking or showing her his face. Not much of a marriage, but he is a god.

-Psyche is much too dramatic and curious. She threatens that she will die if she cannot speak to her sisters and I am sure they will all mess up her marriage before she ever gets the chance to see any love in it.

-She uses sex to convince him to let her sisters visit. I do not see how that would be a good piece of advice for the old woman to give this kidnapped girl.

-Not surprised, though Psyche sticks to her word, her sisters plan to destroy her happiness because they are the original ugly stepsisters (though not step).

-Psyche should throw her sisters off a cliff when they evilly do as Cupid said they would, but she may still have some love for her sisters even though they want to ruin her life and probably end it. Sisters.

-Psyche decides to kill her husband in his sleep. Once again, not good advice for a kidnapped girl, but perhaps she is supposed to just be distracted or learn what not to do.

-Nothing ever goes right in these stories. She didn’t even try to kill him once she saw him, but she is still punished by his leaving and now she is super depressed and whiny. But there is hope that her sisters will be punished.

-Yep, sisters jumped off a cliff thinking Zephyr would take them to Cupid. Moral: don’t be an evil, jealous, vindictive, horrible sister.

-Venus is probably the worst character ever to be put in charge of love. The Romans must have really been messed up.

-The fairy tale part of this story continues with ants as little helpers rather than birds and forest animals. Also, Venus is still the worst and I hate her.

-More fairy tale: golden wool which has to be collected.

-She is saved by an eagle, which only reminds me of Lord of the Rings, in itself a different fairy tale.

-She is also sent into a deep coma-like sleep and is pretty much Sleeping Beauty.

-Since this is not Disney and the story focuses heavily on its horrible characters and not much on happiness, Cupid just wakes her up and that is kind of all it took.

-They get married and she is immortal now, though the whole time she was foolish and only finished tasks by the help from others.

-The girl and donkey find courage to escape but I really do not think the story of Psyche gave anyone any good advice or courage.


The full story of Cupid and Psyche can be found at Cupid.