Reading Notes: Cupid and Psyche, Part A

I read the story of "The Captive Woman" by Apuleius. This was a tale told through the lens of Lucius. At this point, Lucius is a donkey. He was transformed early in the books. He is now traveling with a band of robbers. They wait until nightfall to rob people. One night, after nightfall, the robbers departed. Lucius abandoned at the camp wandered around for the night. Until, they returned with no gold or jewelry. However, they had a young woman. By the way she was dressed, it was apparent that she was of a good family, a noble family. She wailed and whined about the pain and trauma that they were going to inflict on her. But, the robbers assured her that they only wanted her for the ransom her parents would pay to have her back. She was locked in a cave and cried until she fell asleep. Shortly after falling asleep, she is jolted awake by a nightmare. The woman attempts to find anything she can to end her life. She has not lived long but she cannot imagine living in the world she had just dreamed. An older woman stops her. The older woman explains how she isn't go to let her cheat the men out of their money and that she was their prisoner fair and square. So, the younger woman begins to describe her nightmare. She explains it as though it had already occurred. She was a bride of a handsome man from her village. Her mom was getting her ready and fussing over how beautiful of a bride she made. Until, a band of robbers bust into the venue. They grab the girl and yank her from her family. She is dragged through the town. Her groom chases after them closely. He tries to enlist help from anyone in the town that will listen, but this is to no avail. One of the robbers was tired of his chasing. They turned around a hit him over the head with a boulder. At this point, her groom was no longer alive. She wailed harder at the reliving of this. The older woman attempts to ease her sorrows by telling an old wives tale about Cupid and Psyche.

This picture is of Cupid and Psyche, it represents a major theme throughout the wives tale the old woman tells the younger woman. The theme is love. Source: Flickr