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

 

Psyche using a lamp to see Cupid. Source: Royal Collection Trust.

Style: 

• Written in 3rd person but switches to 1st person at the end
• dialogue is long and kept within the paragraphs with  quotation marks separating it
• There are sentences that keeping going with semicolons

Notes 

    In the second half of the story, it starts out with Cupid in pain at his mother's chamber. Once his mother, Venus, finds out who his wife is she gets very mad and goes on a long rant. She wants cupid to be punished along with Psyche. She talks about adopting one of her slave boys and giving him Cupid's wings, bow and arrows, and anything else he has. Next, Psyche goes to different temples still trying to find her husband and praying to different goddesses. She prays to Ceres and Juno for help who both turn her away due to them being related to Venus and not wanting to upset her. 

    Venus is looking for Psyche but cannot find her on earth so she goes to heaven and sends Mercury to find her. Once she got Psyche she had her punished by Anxiety and Sorrow before attacking Psyche herself. She made Psyche perform four different tasks each more dangerous than the next but she ended up getting help from different things. During all of this cupid was still locked in a room. Psyche unsealed the jar of beauty she got from Proserpine only to get covered by Stygian sleep and pass out. During that cupid is healed and goes to fine Psyche waking her up. He then went to heaven to get support from Jupiter. Jupiter would help but would be owed a girl of outstanding beauty. After there was a wedding feast where Psyche was turned immortal. She then had a daughter who was called Pleasure.

    After the wife's tale, it switches back to the young woman captured by robbers and the old lady telling the story. Robbers then talk about killing Lucius who is a donkey. He breaks free to escape but the old lady tries to stop him so she gets dragged with him. The young woman helps free him from the old lady and he then helps rescue her. 

Bibliography: The Golden Ass written by Apuleius and translated by Tony Kline, Stories 1 - 10.