Gus Empie
Romance Story
Period 6
16 September 2008
Cupid and Psyche
“Psyche rushed out after him into the night. She could not see him but she heard his voice speaking to her. He told her who he was, and sadly bade her farewell. The importance of this myth is it describes relationships in a positive way. It is the classic story of man loves woman, and woman loves man, yet something is standing between them. The over all theme of this short story is one must work hard to get someone to like you, and that relationships are not always so easy. It is a story that shows if you love something enough, you have to work for it and never give up.
Cupid’s arrows are a considerable symbol. Although they do not play a big part in this particular story, they are still crucial. A natural symbol of love was the arrows had the power to make you love or hate someone after being struck by one. Cupid’s arrow is still used to this day as a psychological symbol, such as the arrow through the heart on a valentine card. The social symbol for Cupids arrows is that love is important because we all need to be loved.
In the story, Cupid must take Psyche away to an isolated cabin in the middle of no where, which brings me to my next symbol, the cabin that Psyche had to stay at. It was a natural symbol for safety from Venus. It provides everything that one would expect a cabin to have: food, water, shelter, heat, all of which a psychological. On a social level this provided a “safety blanket” if you will, for Psyche. It was in such a safe place that Psyche’s only worry was becoming lonely.
The box of beauty that Venus tells Psyche to get from Persephone is a social symbol. It symbolizes curiosity and the instinct to always look good. In the story, Psyche could not help her self to some of Persephone’s beauty, and she felt that when she saw Cupid again, she would need to look good. Venus knew that Psyche would open the box when she slapped the title of beauty on it. After Psyche opened the box she passed out.
This myth is important because it is a real Romeo and Juliet story, if Romeo’s mom was a jealous goddess. It reinforces the idea that “true” love can never be stopped and at the end of the day, the two lovebirds will be together. I encourage you to take a lesson from this story and tell that certain some one how you feel.