For example, Venus was the original wicked mother-in-law. I see so much of Cinderella's step-mother in her but she is far worse! I mean she made Psyche go all the way to the underworld to get her a box of beauty. Sending someone to the land of the dead on a beauty errand is pretty much a a pure sign of hatred.
Also, where does the pop culture image of Cupid even come from? In this story he his far from the arrow-slinging baby in a diaper that is depicted in so many images today. He's a strong young adult and romantic lead in the story. It's funny to me how different these characters can become! It's similar to how Frankenstein's monster is a green zombie-like creature that doesn't have any common sense. Whereas in the source material, Frankenstein's monster is a smart and eloquent beast that is far more intelligent than his creator.
When Psyche entered the enchanted castle and their were invisible servants, all I could picture was the scene from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" where Belle enters the Beast's castle. That scene is so ingrained in my memory that is was difficult to picture anything else other than a clock and candlestick escorting a young woman on a tour of the castle.
It's amazing how over time stories can inspire or shift dramatically with each retelling. Every culture has their own "Beauty and the Beast" and "Cinderella" story, told in a variety of different ways. "The Story of Cupid and Psyche" just so happened to be a little bit of both.
(Psyche & Eros from Barnes and Noble)
No comments:
Post a Comment