myth of cupid and psyche essays

myth of cupid and psyche essays The myth of Cupid and Psyche is recurrent throughout Indo-Aryan cultures, from Scotland to India. The best known version of it is perhaps the Germanic fairy-story Cinderella (Slade 2003). However, the earliest documented version is by Apuleius in his book The Golden Asse (Apuleius 1566). Apuleiuss tale about a man, Lucuis, who gets turned into an ass, includes the myth of Cupid and Psyche as an application of the central theme of the book into the wider realm of mythos. The central theme in both stories is the consequences that come with the attempted satisfaction of curiosity. Bulfinchs version (Bulfinch 1855) is more meant for children and public readers, while Apuleiuss tale is directed towards the elite of society. This is why Bulfinch censored many facts of Apuleiuss story, such as the near death of Cupid by the oil, the murderous Psyche who plots with her sisters to cut off her husbands head, and the tale Psyches sisters tell her about her husband being a great serpent full of deadly poison with a ravenous and gaping throat, (Apuleis 1566) who is waiting for the death of his child so that he can devour both the infant and his wife. Bulfinch tells the tale of Cupid and Psyche much more simpler than Apuleius, while still guarding some of the same themes. A theme emphasized by Apuleius is the growing from a child to a mother, as Psyche did. Cupid and Psych are often portrayed as children by Bulfinch. Cupid, mischievous enough in his own nature (Bulfinch 1855), is described as having golden ringlets and a snow-white neck, characteristic of children. He is a servant still to his mother, and is even described by Psyche as a beautiful youth. There is no mention of Psyches pregnancy in Bulfinchs version until the very end, and it is assumed the child was conceived after her trials were completed. Apuleius, however, describes cupid as rash and hardy, who...