35 pages • 1 hour read
ApuleiusCupid and Psyche
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 170A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Transformations of Shape and Destiny
In the introduction to his novel, Apuleius writes that he intends the reader “to feel wonder at the transformations of men’s shapes and destinies into alien forms” (1). Given that metamorphosis means transformation in Latin, it is likely that “Cupid and Psyche” was intended to reflect this larger theme.
Instances of a human turning into an animal, plant, or other living creature occur throughout Greco-Roman art, but the purpose of the transformation differs. In “Cupid and Psyche,” Jupiter complains of the times he has been the recipient of Cupid’s love arrows: “You have transformed my smiling countenance into grisly shapes of snakes, fires, beasts, birds, and cattle” (112), he claims, alluding to myths in which Jupiter takes another shape so he might pursue an earthly maiden. These transformations are for the purpose of deceit—so his wife, Juno, will not discover the affair.
Some mythical transformations occur for protection. One popular tale told how Daphne, a beautiful nymph, begged the gods to save her from the advances of Apollo, and she was turned into a laurel tree. Some transformations were simply tragic. Echo, who appears in “Cupid and Psyche” as a companion to Pan, wasted away for love of a beautiful youth named Narcissus until she subsided into nothing but a voice.
Lucius, the protagonist of The Metamorphoses, is transformed into a donkey through a combination of curiosity and error. His transformation is a type of punishment, and it starts him on a quest to return to his human form. His adventures are meant, presumably, to teach him wisdom, while the stories he overhears comment on his predicament in various ways. In “Cupid and Psyche,” Lucius the donkey learns of another whose curiosity brought her much adversity but who overcame her obstacles to reach her goal.
Psyche’s transformation is one of personal development and growth. She goes from being adored from afar to being loved, becoming a wife and then a mother. Her curiosity about the identity of her husband changes her circumstances, but the ensuing trials teach her maturity. Venus tests her devotion, and Psyche holds fast, determined this time to obey the gods.
In other myths, such as the ancient Greek epic The Odyssey, passage through the realms of the underworld provides an opportunity for the protagonist to gather knowledge. The hero emerges with information that will help him conquer his obstacles and achieve his goal. Psyche doesn’t seem to gain wisdom from her journey to the underworld, for she falls prey to curiosity, the same impulse that caused her previous woes. However, as before, the consequences of her curiosity move Psyche to a different stage of her life.
Her death-like sleep might also be read as a moment of passage, a crossing of thresholds between worlds, for she wakes to love and reconciliation with her divine beloved. She achieves not just immortality but an eternity of love among other divine beings. In Platonic terms, Psyche’s story symbolizes the path the human soul travels from attachment to transient things to an eventual joining with the divine, eternal order—a union achieved through the experience of love.
Cupid’s transformation is a rehabilitation of character. He is known for his thoughtless mischief and the indiscriminate way he stirs love in humans and gods alike. But when he falls in love with Psyche—the representation of the human soul—Cupid becomes faithful, nurturing, and protective. He recognizes that she is lonely, hidden away in his golden palace, and he tries to console her. In keeping his identity from her, however, Cupid does not allow their love to be complete. He also is wounded at their parting and undergoes a transformation of his own, for as he heals, he overcomes his sense of betrayal and is determined to reunite with his beloved. Jupiter thinks Cupid will find marriage to be a punishment, but for the transformed Cupid, the outcome is what he wanted: a loving, faithful union that brings both partners pleasure, represented by their daughter.
Types of Love
The Latin language recognized many words for love, and several of these types appear in “Cupid and Psyche.” The word venus meant sexual love, desire, or pleasure, while the adjective cupidus meant passionate, desirous, or lustful. Cupid was sometimes called Amor, the Latin word for love and affection that could be felt for a romantic partner or friends.
The awe and fear with which the other goddesses regard Venus attest to the power of love. Cupid’s reputation suggests that passion is a disruptive force, causing people to behave outside accepted boundaries. When Jupiter lectures Cupid, “You keep piercing this heart of mine, which regulates the elements and orders the changing motion of the stars, with countless wounds” (112), he confirms that Cupid’s kind of love opposes order and law, which were strong Roman virtues.
In “Cupid and Psyche,” Venus and Cupid represent two different faces of passionate love, envious and nurturing, respectively. Cupid’s initial desire for Psyche is sudden and intense, seizing him the moment he sees her beauty. But his strategizing to gain and keep Psyche can be read as selfish. She feels isolated and confined. Being hidden away in Cupid’s palace represents the early, obsessive stages of love when the lovers long only for each other and can forget about the rest of the world. Desire might thrive away from the community, but humans generally cannot, as Psyche demonstrates by her desire to see her sisters.
After the moment of revelation, when Psyche learns who Cupid is, his love resembles the tender affection expressed by the word amor. He overcomes his hurt over her betrayal—and her plan to kill him—and seeks reconciliation. In the closing image of their wedding feast, Cupid seems content to be a husband to his divine wife, now his equal. His love has evolved from lustful desire to tender affection to divine reverence.
Psyche’s love for Cupid is described as amor from her first declaration that she loves and adores him. She does not need the prick of his arrow to be moved. Since she cannot see him, Psyche’s love is not swayed by his beauty or his identity, though learning who he is leads Psyche to fall in love more deeply. After Cupid leaves her, the god Pan recognizes in Psyche the conventional signs of love-sickness: an “excessively pale complexion and continual sighs,” along with a “mournful gaze” (95). Her suicide attempt suggests that passionate love can cause destruction. Pan counsels her to petition the god of love for help—a neat irony, considering it is Cupid she longs for and Venus who punishes her.
Psyche’s determination to prove herself to Venus suggests her love involves more than just physical desire. In her prayers to Juno, Psyche begs protection as a fellow wife and mother. Despite the hardships inflicted by Venus, Psyche’s loyalty, tenacity, and devotion are rewarded. Jupiter and Juno attend her wedding feast, showing that Cupid and Psyche’s love is sanctioned by the institution of marriage, which was considered a stabilizing influence in the Roman Empire. Their love evolved from a secretive union driven by passion to a public union based on conjugal love, fidelity, and commitment. In terms of both Christian and Platonic allegory, love is the force that draws the human soul to a true understanding of and union with both other humans and the divine.
In contrast to the love shared by Cupid and Psyche, Venus represents the jealous and selfish side of love. Though Cupid is her son, Venus doesn’t demonstrate affection or concern for his injuries; instead, she threatens to punish him for disobeying her. The selfish lover is vindictive and cruel, in contrast to the ways that Cupid and Psyche forgive and tend to one another. The trials that Venus sets for Psyche suggest that the course of love is full of daunting obstacles and risks that the lovers must overcome.
Psyche’s sisters represent the destructive power of envy, or jealous love. The sisters initially seek Psyche out of grief, thinking her dead, but when they find her alive, living in a palace surrounded by riches, their love quickly turns to spite. Their vindictiveness shows how lies and manipulation, especially from those who harbor ill will, can destroy the happiness and peace of mind of someone in love. Where affectionate and devoted love bring Psyche to the heavens and an immortal union with her beloved, the envy of the sisters brings them to their deaths.
Obedience and Piety
Piety was a celebrated virtue in the Roman world. It essentially meant proper respect and observance where it was due. Psyche’s character demonstrates this important attribute.
Members of a Roman household were expected to show proper respect for the paterfamilias, the father figure who headed the household. Psyche demonstrates respect and affection for both parents when she counsels them not to mourn for her when Apollo decrees that she must be sacrificed to a monster. She likewise promises obedience to her husband when he warns her not to pry into his appearance. Respect for the authority and wishes of her husband would make Psyche a virtuous wife in Roman terms.
In submitting to the words of the oracle, Psyche also demonstrates that she is willing to show the gods due respect. She concludes that her misfortune is due to the “divine honours” (79) mistakenly bestowed upon her when she was hailed as a second Venus. Whereas piety was expected, impiety—going against the will of the gods, or provoking their wrath—would be punished. Cupid calls Psyche’s sisters “impious” (87) when he warns that they plan to attack her, for he anticipates they will press Psyche for information about him. The sisters’ deaths can be read as a punishment not only for their lack of familial affection for their sister but also for contravening the will of a god.
Psyche further proves her piety when she comes to the temple of Ceres. She hopes that by straightening the offerings left there she can “implore the kindly pity” (100) of the goddess, and she thereafter prays at the shrine of Juno. When both goddesses decline assistance, Psyche resolves that she will approach Venus and hope to “soften her savage onslaught by showing a humble demeanour” (102). She maintains this humility even when Venus proves cruel.
When Psyche disobeys authority, her motives is curiosity. Like the figures of Pandora and Eve, curiosity proves to Psyche’s flaw. The need to know the truth about her husband leads her to look at him with her lamp, whereupon she injures him and he flies away. Similarly, Cupid calls it curiosity when Psyche peeks inside the Proserpina’s box and falls into the death-like sleep. Yet her curiosity has deep roots. In the case of her husband, she wanted to see him because she feared for the life of her child. And with Proserpina’s box, she hoped to make herself even more beautiful to win back Cupid. Her curiosity is based in her desire to regain her husband and protect her child—traits that would be considered virtuous in the Roman world. Her disobedience could have cost her life, but she is rescued by love and given another chance to prove her loyalty.
