Psyche:
To be honest…I didn’t like her that much. Why? Well, she was
whiny and sad, and sometimes she would be noble, but it was only a front
(because inside she was whiny and sad). I understand that, in that society, it
would suck to be unmarried, especially because (rather than in spite of the
fact that) you were beautiful. It’s a strange dynamic and leaves Psyche bitter
and a little jaded. However, it doesn’t make her smart. Maybe if I saw a
beautiful palace in the middle of nowhere, I’d be more than tempted to go
inside (though I would go in with a wary mindset). But the moment a disembodied
voice spoke to me, no matter if I did believe in the gods, I would have booked
it. Or at the very least forced the disembodied voice to give me an
explanation. And, depending on whether it seemed plausible or not, I would go
or stay. I wouldn’t have just accepted things for what they seemed without a
reason I could at least buy.
I could understand why Psyche ended up telling her sisters
about her invisible lover, even though she had promised Cupid she wouldn’t. She
grew up with these people – and rather than listen to a random stranger as to
what she should do, she decides to take the advice of people she’s known for
all her life instead, who are supposed to love her. I think that’s pretty
reasonable, in a certain way. He could have been a snake, for all she knew (though
unlikely, since he felt like a human when she slept with him). However, it’s also
true that her mysterious husband had treated her well and preciously, better
than he might have if he was simply going to eat her. And there were signs that
he was divine. Read: the palace looks divine. Read: our child’s going to be
either mortal or divine. You’d have thought Psyche would get a clue at this
point.
When she got revenge on her sisters by using their own
wickedness against them, I though it was pretty clever. They didn’t have to
follow Psyche’s advice – they did out of their own greed, which resulted in
both of their deaths. So I suppose I do give Psyche props for dishing out
punishment to her sisters rather than allowing things to happen, as she had in
the first part of the story. Though I think that death might have been a bit
harsh.
When Psyche decided to own up to her problems and face Venus,
I thought that was pretty brave. However, I half-sympathized and half-lost more
respect for Psyche as she strove to complete the tasks Venus gave her. My
sympathy came from the fact that Venus had given her near to completely impossible
tasks to accomplish. However, I lost some of the little respect I had for
Psyche because the first thing she can think of doing each time she tries to
complete a task is to kill herself. Maybe if she had carefully assessed and
tried (without leading herself into reckless danger) everything she could do to
complete the task, and, upon realizing there wasn’t truly anything she could,
killed herself, then I could have had respect for that decision. But (at least
for the second task) she doesn’t even try to think about what she could do and
only fate intervenes before she can commit suicide. She should have had some
foresight – at least a little – about what she was getting into facing Venus.
Cupid:
You don’t really get to see much of Cupid’s perspective, as
Cupid and Psyche is told in third-person from Psyche’s angle. But what I’ve
understood of him is that he’s a good person (though I think he saves Psyche
from a bad fate more so because of his own lust rather than from the good of
his heart). He treats Psyche with respect and provides for her comfortably.
Another thing I liked about him (at first) was that he stuck
to his guns. He warned Psyche many, many times that he would leave her if she
tried to seek out his identity. And he did. But then, when he recovered from
the oil lamp spill on his shoulder (which was I think the primary reason he
left), he decided to go look for her again. When I read that part of the story,
I was thinking to myself, ‘Earlier, didn’t
he say he would never embrace her if she tried to get a glimpse of him?’
But even though he did what he said he wouldn’t for some reason, I liked him
better than Psyche.
And honestly, I’m still not sure as to why Cupid wanted to
conceal his identity. Was it because he thought that their marriage would be
seen as a sham in the eyes of the gods? Or was he afraid that she would fall in
love with his looks? He certainly fell for her looks, though.
The Two Sisters:
Maybe one word to describe both would be this:
self-absorbed. It’s true that their love lives were pretty sad – both were
married to old, rich men – but it doesn’t make up for what they tried to do.
Venus:
Venus came off as petty when she was introduced in the
story; but then again, wouldn’t most people, if in her divine position, want
revenge against someone stealing their followers? Though I’ll admit that’s
pretty harsh revenge – while death is quick, torture is slow. And that was
Venus’ intention.
Venus also seems status-conscience and stubborn/strong-willed.
She cares about what others think, but also wants them to be on her side. She
won’t listen to fair advice or counsel concerning her problems – she’s not that
good at perspective taking.
And she’s jealous, especially because her son has a love she
will never have. It makes Venus petty, where she might not have been had her
situation been different.
Cupid and Psyche
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(Source: Wikimedia Commons)
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