Writing Notes: Cupid and Psyche (Part A)

Cupid and Psyche

1. The Captive Woman: 
• Preface to Captive Women:
• The story is written from the perspective of an old woman who is the storyteller 
• The old woman is part of a band of robbers
• band of robbers had an ex-human donkey with them that is the hero of the story: Lucius 
• is told for the purpose of comforting a kidnapped young girl
• Tired donkey is eating in the middle of the night while robbers wake and leave to get goods 
• come back with nothing other than a girl from a known family
• robbers are holding the girl hostage and blame their proverty for this profession
• girl wept while old woman tried to comfort
• written in an easy tone but with many descriptive words
• girl begins to fall asleep but wakes up in a panic, mentions she has no hope of rescue
• illudes to wanting a sord to kill herself 
• this made the old woman angry thinking she could cheat the robbers of their ransom
• threatens her if she harms herself 

1. Her Dream: 
• Preface: 
• the young women explains she was kidnapped on her wedding day 
• she had a dream about the kidnapping before she was kidnapped 
• made her more upset to begin with 
• old woman begins the story of Cupid and psyche 
• young women explains she was set to marry her childhood best friend 
• she was kidnapped while their two families were gathered in ceremony 
• had a dream that she was taken and her lover was hit over the head with a rock, dead
• the old women says nightmares are more true than daydreams 
2. Psyche's Beauty:
• Begins a story
• King and Queen had three daughters 
• two were pretty, the third was of unmatchable beauty 
• people spoke so highly of her beauty that the goddess Venus came to see 
• people came from all over
• People began to neglecting Venus but showering girl with praise 
• questions why someone of her stature is being shadowed by "earthly pollution" 
• questions if the girl has to die for people to favor Venus again
• threatens she will regret ever making people forget her beauty 
• Summons Cupid, her headstrong wrongdoing son 
• told him to make her love the worst man on earth 
• with no rank, money or health 
• Venus then kissed Cupid goodbye, returned to the ocean was was welcomed back like the god she was 
• mentions Neptune's wife, troops of Triton, Portunus 
3. The Oracle of Apollo: 
• Psyche- The third most beautiful sister
• gazed on by all, but no one wished to marry her
• sisters were engaged to royal suitors 
• made Psyche ill with loneliness
• Psyche's father talked to an oracle of Apollo asking for a man to marry his daughter
• Apollo responded that any child of hers will be disastrous and she needs to be lead to her fatal marriage (killed?) 
• said the gods are terrified 
• King and Queen wept, soon got Psyche ready for her death
• wore all red, the whole city was grieving 
• Psyche said this should be a relief for you all, don't waste your life grieving, but think of all who loved my beauty 
• fell silent and walked to her death, a cliff 
• everyone left her to die on the cliff, the wind washed her down to her flowery deathbed 
4. The Magical Place:
• Psyche peacefully woke to a wooded grove
• center of the grove was a magnificent god like house 
• it began to lure her in, she approached and the house was unlocked
• A voice spoke to her and told her that it is all her and she is free to enjoy
• her servants are there too, but only voices no bodies were around 
• invisible choir played
5. The Mysterious Husband:
• It was all great but Psyche went to bed frightened as she was scared of what she didn't know
• she went to bed a virgin but was not one before the sun came up
• word of her "death" got to her sisters and they went to comfort their parents who had aged 
• her invisible husband told her that her sisters will be at the cliff top grieving
• she is not allowed to look at them or her life is ruined 
• she was upset about not being dead and not being able to see them
• husband got mad at her for crying all night 
• threatens her to remember if she messes up she's done 
• She seduced him into bringing her sisters there 
• if she doesn't mention his appearance
6. The Jealousy of Psyche's Sisters:
• The sisters came to the cliff and Psyche yelled to them, the wind then blew them down to her 
• she welcomed them into her home 
• they indulged but then began to question how everything was happening 
• She lies to them about her husband's looks and hobbies
• gave them jewels and sent them home with the wind 
• made them jealous 
• thinks they were exiled to foreign countries and are poor, but they are royal 
• one husband is old and frail 
• they will return to their husbands to plan Psyche's punishment 
7. Psyche's Husband Warns Her: 
• He warns her that danger is coming and that sisters are plotting 
• tells her to not engage with her sisters, or they will bring danger
• if she does not she will be able to have a divine child 
• warns her again as her sisters are coming back 
• however she seduces him again to allow her sisters to come down 
8. Fears and Doubts: 
• Sisters returned and jumped off the cliff
• faked a sisterly embrace 
• They asked psyche of her husband and she gave them a different description 
• sent them on their way 
• They picked up she was lying and needed to dig deeper
• think she doesn't know what he looks like and is carrying a deity
• They return in the morning and confront her 
• Psyche broke her promise and spilled her guts 
• asked to be saved 
• Sisters told her to kill her husband in his sleep 
9. Psyche's Husband Revealed: 
• She went along with the plan to kill her husband only to find her husband was Cupid
• he was handsome, and she fell in love with him as she further examined his beauty 
• hot oil from the lamp woke him up and saw he had been betrayed, flew away
• told her that he disobeyed his mother and shot himself with the arrow
• he loves her
• said he will take his revenge on her sisters 
10. Psyche's Despair:
• Psyche, when dropped from holding on the Cupid flying away landed on a river bank,
• saw a Pan the god of the wild 
• told her to pray to Cupid and worship him to earn his favour 
• Psyche found her way to both her sisters villages, told a tale
• tricked her sisters into thinking Cupid wanted them now
• they jumped off a cliff and both died 

Apuleius. “Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook.” Greek Myth: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche, 

           mythfolklore.blogspot.com/search/label/Unit%3A%20Cupid%20and%20Psyche.