Reading Notes: Cupid and Psyche Part A

(Psyche Honored by the People, Giordano)

The Captive Woman:

• A man named Lucius has been turned into a donkey and now works for a group of robbers 
• An old woman is also a part of this group of robbers, along with an ordinary horse
• The robbers have kidnapped a young girl and intend to hold her for ransom
• They tell the old woman to console her and calm her down because she is hysterically crying.  
• The young girl eventually falls asleep but wakes up soon after; crying once again. 
• This angers the old woman 

Her Dream: 

• The young girl begins to tell the old woman that she was engaged to her cousin whom she was about to marry 
• It was on her wedding day that the robbers kidnapped her 
• The young girl explain to the old woman that she was dealing with this even when she awoke to cry again
• In her dream, one of the robbers takes a stone and strikes her lover, killing him 
• The old woman comforts her again by telling her that such sad and frightening dreams often lead to profitable deals and those dreams filled with laughter often lead to sorrow. 
• The old woman then tells the young girl that she will tell her an old wives’ tale that makes a pretty story
• The old woman begins to tell the young girl the story of Cupid and Psyche. 

Psyche’s Beauty:

• The story begins in a city where a king, queen, and their three daughters lived. 
• While the eldest two were beautiful, it was their youngest who was the most beautiful of all 
• News soon spread throughout the land of the youngest’s beauty
• Many believed her to be the goddess Venus, reborn
• People began to abandon the temple and shrines dedicated to Venus because it was the girl that the people now worshiped
• This angered Venus greatly and she grew violent 
• She swore to make the girl regret her beauty 
• Venus summoned her son Cupid. She asked him to make her fall in love with the vilest of men before returning back to the sea. 

The Oracle of Apollo: 

• Though Psyche was praised for her beauty, she did not reap any profit from her 
• Though many wished to marry her, none actually sought her hand in marriage. She was admired like a piece of fine furniture
• Her two sisters were already engaged to royals
• She was left at home, alone and unhappy.
• Her father feared that this was due to the gods’ anger and consulted with the Miletian oracle of Apollo. He asked for a man to marry the sad girl.
• The oracle told the king that if the girl would have children born of a mortal, they would be cruel and savage and serpent-like. 
• The king returned home to the queen and they wept about the oracle’s warning. 
• The day of Psyche's wedding approached and she was sent to her fatal marriage. 
• Psyche told her parents that they should not continue to weep for this marriage and swiftly went to the cliff where she would meet her husband. 
• At the cliff, the wind god Zephyr carried the Psyche down and laid her on a bed of flowing turf.  

The Magical Palace: 

• Psyche woke from her slumber to find a regal palace
• She admired the beauty of the palace and was drawn inside
• Inside the palace, she saw many fine jewels and gems 
• The palace contained rooms that were filled to the top with treasure 
• As she looked around, a bodiless voice told her that everything she saw was now hers
• The voice then told Psyche to go to her room and rest and that the servant s would prepare her a feast. 
• She went to her room and bathed and later found a table that contained a feast. 
• She ate her meal as she listened to the music come from an invisible choir. 

The Mysterious Husband: 

• After many days, Psyche began to get used to being in the palace. 
• Her mother and father began to age greatly due to their distress. They told Psyche’s sisters that she was dead and they left their marriages to return home 
• One night, the voice of Psyche’s husband warned her not to follow or even look toward her sisters on the cliff when she heard them 
• He told her if she did, it would cause him great pain and bring ruin upon herself. 
• She promised to behave but soon began to weep 
• Her husband came to find her weeping. She threatened to die if he did not allow her to see her sisters. He told her that she could but she should never listen to her sisters if they tell her to investigate her husband’s appearance. If she listened to her sisters, she would never again enjoy his embraces. 
• She told him that she would rather die than be robbed of his embraces and asked him to tell Zephyr to bring her sister to the palace. 

The Jealousy of Psyche’s Sisters: 

• Psyche showed her sister the palace and all its treasures, they took luxurious baths, and ate the delicious food. 
• Her sisters quickly began to grow envious 
• They began to question who her husband was and why he had such goods 
• She did not want to go back on her promise so psyche told her sisters he was a young man who spent his days hunting. 
• She placed gold in their hands and called for Zephyr to take them back
• Her sisters were angry and envious of the good their youngest sister possessed. 
• They swore to cast her down from her pile of gold and returned to their husbands while they planned her punishment. 

Psyche’s Husband Warns Her:

• Psyche’s husband warned her about her sisters plotting her ruin
• He tells her not to listen to her sisters' inquisitions about him. He tells her they will soon have children and they will be born divine but if she does listen to her sisters they will be born mortal. 
• The day comes for her sister to return and Psyche’s husband tells her not to even see her sisters.
• Psyche ensures him that she is loyal and that she will not ask of his appearance if he allows her to see her sisters one last time. He agrees and calls upon Zephyr again. 

Fears and Doubts: 

• Once again the sister return and ask more of Psyche’s husband
• Forgetting her earlier claims, she tells them that he is middle aged with a bit of grey hair.
• The sisters know she is lying and soon leave, only to return again later. 
• The next time they return, they begin to warn Psyche that her husband is a serpent creature and remind her of the oracle’s warning. 
• Hearing this begins to frighten Psyche. She tells her sisters about the promises she’s been making her husband regarding his appearance. 
• The sisters tell her to wit until he is in bed with her and shine light upon him in order to reveal his true self. 
• They tell her to hide a razor under her pillow and sever the serpent’s head off when she sees him
• While she was torn about what to do, as night fell she prepared anyway 

Psyche’s Husband Revealed: 

• Psyche followed along with the plan but when she turns on the light she is shocked to find that her husband is not a serpent creature, but the beautiful god Cupid. 
• As she looked upon Cupid, a drop of hot oil fell from the lamp and onto Cupid. 
• This woke him from his slumber and her left up once he realized that his secret
• He reveals to Psyche that he disobeyed his mother’s wishes and shot himself with his own arrow to make her his wife. 
• After he reveals this he leaves  

Psyche’s Despair: 

• Pan, the god of the wild saw Psyche and her despair. He began to try and soothe her. 
• He tells Psyche not to find death and to cease her mourning and to pray to Cupid
• Psyche does not reply to the god and continues to walk along until she finds herself in the kingdom of one of her brother-in-laws
• She tells her sister of what happened and of her banishment and of how Cupid claimed he was now going to wed her sister 
• Once her sister hears this, she tells her husband that her parents had passed and returned to the cliff. The sister throws herself off the cliff while asking Zephyr to carry her to her new husband. 
• Zephyr does not listen to this and the sister falls to her death. 
• Psyche then traveled to her other sister’s home and told her the same story. Upon hearing this, her other sister threw herself off the cliff as well. 

Story Source: Apuleius's Golden Ass, as translated into English by Tony Kline (2013).