Reading Notes: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche, Part A

 

Psyche Honoured by the People. Source: Wikipedia

Characters: 

• Lucius
• Old woman
• young woman
• robbers

Notes

• Lucius has been turned into a donkey
• Robbers are in possession of him using him as a pack animal
• The robbers kidnapped the young woman on her wedding day
• the young woman has a dream about the kidnapping which makes her upset so the old lady tells her an old wives tale
• Notes for the wives tale:
• Characters are Venus, king and queens youngest daughter Psyche, Cupid, king and queen, apollo, zephyr
• Psyche is worshiped for her looks
• Everyone deserts Venus no longer worshiping her which awakens her and makes her mad
• Venus summons cupid, her son.
• Venus wishes her son to make Psyche fall in love with men that are considered wretched who have been denied rant, wealth, and even health.
• Psyche was alone and sad that everyone praised her but she had no one who asked for her hand
• Her father asked Apollo for a man to marry Psyche
• Apollo said the marriage would be bad and Psyche would have evil children
• Fell asleep on a cliff and when she woke up there was a palace
• Doesn't know who her husband is and is trapped in the palace.
• Husband tells psych that she should not try to figure out what he looks like
• Zephyr helps the sisters get to the palace 
• Sisters scheme against Psyche
• husband keeps letting her see her sisters even though he warns her about them
• Psyche is pregnant
• Sisters talk Psyche into bringing a lamp into the room to see what her husband looks like and kill him
• Sees husband is Cupid, he woke up mad 
• Betrayed his mother and took her as a lover
• Psyche Confronted sisters and they both had punishment

Bibliography: The Golden Ass written by Apuleius and translated by Tony Kline, Stories 1 - 11.