Although written in the olden times, one of Apuleius’s story collections in the book of Metamorphoses entitled "The Tale of Cupid and Psyche" relates to the modern age issue of marriage and relationship. It reflects and gives hopes to some relationships that started wrong but ended up good. I will examine the story of “The Tale of Cupid and Psyche” and will relate its relevance to the modern times.
“The Tale of Cupid and Psyche” is a tale about the relationship that the God of Love, Cupid, has with a mortal named Psyche. Venus, the Goddess of beauty and the mother of Cupid, was offended when people believed in a rumour that Psyche, the most beautiful of the three daughters of the king and queen, is Venus’s daughter from a union with a mortal. She ordered Cupid to revenge in her behalf. However, Cupid, fell in love with Psyche.
One day, Psyche was led to a beautiful place until she was guided to a bedroom. An anonymous creature made love with her and due to the darkness; she was unable to see the creature. She then started to look forward to it, and the creature started to come to her every night but leaves before the sun rises. Psyche’s sisters pressured her to spy on the creature, whom they thought was a monster, by bringing a dagger and a lamp. One night, while Cupid was asleep, Psyche turned on the lamp and prepared the dagger to strike Cupid, but she saw the most attractive creature she has ever seen. Psyche unintentionally hurt herself with Cupid’s arrow that later resulted to a deeper passion. She then woke Cupid up by spilling the oil of the lamp. Cupid then flew away (Relihan 65).
The two sisters of Psyche were envious when they learned that Psyche’s lover was the God of Love. The two sisters offered t...
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...rs based on their status, which I think, is not a key to real joy and happiness.
Love knows no bound. There is always hope and anything wrong can be corrected if and only if there is true love between the two. There is always a second chance and anyone can improve and change for the better. Couples can overcome the trials in a relationship that comes along the way through love and trust, faith to God, and willingness for God’s guidance.
Works Cited
Relihan, Joel C. "The Tale of Cupid and Psyche". Indianapolis: Hackett, 2009. Print.
S Parker and P Murgatroyd. Love Poetry and Apuleius' "Cupid and Psyche", The Classical Quarterly pp. 400-44. Cambridge University Press. Web. 2000. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3556474
William E. Stephenson. The Comedy of Evil in Apuleius, Arion pp. 87-93. Boston University. Web. 1964. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20140428
"PSYCHE : Greek Goddess of the Soul | Mythology, Psykhe, W/ Pictures." THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY, Exploring Mythology & the Greek Gods in Classical Literature & Art. Web. 8 Oct. 2011. .
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