Reading Diary A: Cupid and Psyche

           I knew I wanted to read Cupid and Psyche the second I read that it is similar to Beauty and the Beast. The overview as a whole actually reeled me right in and if I had actual free time (reading for pleasure is a lost cause these days) I would love to read the recommended Till We Have Faces.

The Captive Woman/ Her Dream
           A young woman is held hostage by a band of thieves hoping to receive a handsome ransom from the girl's wealthy parents. She is struck with guilt as she realizes she too, is in a prison with her kidnappers. They try to sooth her worries by saying that they will let her go as soon as she is paid for. This was not enough for the girl for she threatens to commit suicide. The old lady grows tired of her self pity and tells the girl that her cries meaningless, if she even attempts to do the deed, they will roast her alive. The girl begs for forgiveness as the magical donkey feels sorry for her.
          The girl tells the old woman about her plans to marry her cousin (to everyone's consent, times were different back then). It seems as though she was kidnapped a day before her wedding to this man. A man, whom she had a dream where he was killed by one of the thieves. The old lady tells her that dreams and nightmares that occur during the daytime, often renders the opposite premonition.

Psyche's Beauty and the Anger of Venus
             The old lady tells a story to calm her down. It begins with a King, Queen, and three beautiful princesses. However, the youngest was seen to be the most beautiful of them all, for everyone was mesmerized by her beauty. They held her in the highest regard, almost as if she was Venus herself. Some even interjected that she was another Venus, a virgin Venus. Apparently this girl was so pretty, men sailed the deep seas just to ogle at her. She was so beloved, the love and adoration which was once meant for Venus, now lay at her feet. Venus was not pleased, in fact, she was bursting with violent anger and vowed to make Psyche regret things she had no power of.

"I’ll soon make her regret that illicit beauty of hers.” Venus

             The Goddess sends her audacious son Cupid to make the girl fall in love with the most wretched of men. Just to prove how much of a diva she is the old lady describes her elaborate entourage.

The Oracle of Apollo/ Magical Palace
            Pysche is upset for everyone looks at her like a piece of meat art? Everyone wants to gaze at her beauty but not marry. Even her plainer sisters are married into royalty. Her father goes to visit Apollo but he only had omens for the poor girl. If she were to have children with her future husband, their children will basically be the spawn of Satan. On her wedding day, the people wept at her misfortune and left her at the top of the summit where she fell into a deep slumber.
            When she woke up, she was seduced by the attractions of the magical palace. Servants were there to greet her even though none were to be seen. She heard voices in her head urging her to relax, eat, and she was even serenaded by an invisible choir.

The Mysterious Husband/The Jealousy of Psych's Sisters/Psych's Husband Warns her
           ***Random thought: If anyone has seen Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon, this is how I imagine her husband. So creepy*** So she and her husband consummated their marriage, but she doesn't even know what he looks like. He tells her her sisters are coming but he does not want her to interact with them or it will bring him pain. She agrees but becomes remorseful for doing so, she wants to see her sisters. He finally agrees but warns her not to listen to their advice on wondering about his appearance.
          When the pair come to visit Psyche, they were full of morning for they did not know if their sister was okay. Once she sees their agony, she invites then into the palace with happiness. In order to prevent being asked questions about her new husband, Psyche lies about his appearance, lathers her sisters up with gifts, and rushes them out the door. The sisters, envious of her life, complains to each other about their old husbands. They vow to not tell their parents that she is alive and well, and plan her demise as punishment for her arrogance. If they only knew.
          Still filled with a jealous rage, the sisters plan to murder her. Her husband also tells her she is pregnant with a mortal child. Even though he warns her about her sisters, Psyche seduces him in
allowing her to see them once more.

Fears and Doubts/ Psyche's Husband Revealed
          The sisters visit once more and Psyche forgets that she told them that her husband was young and instead describes him as middle aged and going gray. The sisters, now knowing the truth of her husband, come up with a deceptive plan. They remind her of Apollo's omen and as soon as she gives birth to her child, she will be eaten by her husband, a beast. They tell her to kill him while he is lying asleep next to her.
           As her husband is asleep next to her, she tries to do the deed but she finds out that it is Cupid himself. She pricks herself with his arrow and falls even more in love with him. She wakes him up, and he flees after knowing he had been found out. As she clung to him for dear life, he explains to her that he shot himself with an arrow and made her his wife, disobeying his mother, Venus. He punishes her by leaving and tells her he will be taking revenge on her sisters.

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