Romance Stories Throughout Time: Cupid & Psyche

The Cupid & Psyche tale is quite old--though its official, literary version (by Apuleius) was written down relatively late, in the Common Era (A.D.) Even more remarkable is its impact on modern literature.

The tale of a god who takes a girl to live with him (while he remains invisible) utilizes some classic and powerful motifs, including--most obviously--those found in captivity narratives. Some common captivity motifs include (1) children abducted by robbers or fairies; (2) people taken to underground or fairy kingdoms; (3) captive and captor becoming friends.

Call it Stockholm Syndrome if it makes you feel better--the tropes of captivity narratives are powerful stuff in large part because they address liminality, what happens at the edges of society when people meet and change or compromise.

Cupid & Psyche (or Eros & Psyche) inspired Beauty & the Beast, which by itself inspired generations of writers. The original tale also inspired books of its own, including C.S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces and Shimmering Splendor by Roberta Gillis.

What I find most interesting about Cupid or Eros is the ambivalent nature he holds in both Greek literature and later literature. Contrary to the image of the cute boy with an arrow, Eros was considered a rather dangerous deity (and the cute boy with an arrow was considered more dangerous in nineteenth century literature than the image communicates). Eros was the son of Aphrodite or he was the oldest god who came into being alongside the primordial gods. He was the god of love but not the casual (civilized) love of Aphrodite (sure she had affairs but they were all very high-toned).

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Eros, in contrast, is not so much uncivilized as chaotic, the id in full force. Spenser, of The Faerie Queene, portrays him as a cruel boy. Psyche, soul, is necessary not to tame but to empower Eros. While Aphrodite is bound by her culture, Psyche transcends culture (hence her appearance in religious literature). Eros is freed by Psyche from the endless grind of playing around in the mud.

Stephen King argues that horror movies keep the "alligators" of our id under control--and control is the point. The passion, intensity, and warning system of the id is useful. That doesn't mean we want to live in the sewers.

Likewise Eros, without Psyche, is mere boring anarchy, accomplishing nothing in his rush after sensation. But without Eros, raw energy, mystique, and desire are lost.

In the end, Eros and Psyche complement (as Sweets says to Booth and Bones) each other. It's not about forcing someone to behave well; it's about freeing someone to his or her best behavior.