Famous Last Words for Week 2

Today is Labor Day.  I can't believe it's only week 2 and I'm so relieved that labor day is here.  I really need to get back into the swing of things soon or else I'll have a really difficult semester.  It turns out Senior Year is going to be much more difficult than what I initially expected. 

I spent the weekend with my family and drove home on Friday.  I have just been hanging out, shopping, chilling by the pool and vicariously living through people's Snapchats on game day.  It was a tough decision for me to miss OU football's season opener but I ultimately decided to hang out with my parents.  (I must actually be growing up because I definitely would not have made this decision a few years ago.)

One almost catastrophic moment did occur on Saturday though.  For some reason we forgot that the OU game was pay-per-view and realized as it was starting that we wouldn't be able to watch it.  My dad even searched through all of our pay-per-view channels trying to buy it last minute but for some reason it just wasn't there!  So we ended up going to a packed sports bar to watch it there.  Although that seemed to make the experience even better because we were watching the game in an excited atmosphere.  Even if I was by far the youngest person in the room. 

The rest of the weekend was filled with homework however.  Sometimes I feel like homework is the Hydra of Lerna.  This is the mythological creature that grows two more heads every time one is cut off.  Two more assignments sprout up just when you think you're done working on homework for the weekend.  Can Hercules just come help me get some assignments done? 

(Artwork by John Singer Sargent in 1921 from Wikipedia.)

Brainstorming Storybooks Topics

After being encouraged to continue writing about Persephone I've been thinking about different myths she could be involved in and since this class is Mythology and Folklore it gives me A LOT of options and I'm not exactly sure which way to go yet.  

Topic: Origin Story 
Comments: This would maybe be a good start since not everyone is familiar with the story of Persephone.  That was the biggest comment about my Storybook in Indian Epics and this could be kind of be a prequel.  
Possible Stories: Since I would put my spin on it that Persephone and Hades would eventually find love kind of like Khal Drogo and Daenerys.  The different chapters would probably focus on Persephone living with her mom, Persephone being abducted, Persephone living with Hades and then the last one would be her finding peace before returning to her mother. 
Sample Story Comments: In the past I read a YA novel about the retelling of Persephone and Hades.  It features her mother as very domineering and not letting her experience anything in life.  So this is where I got my idea in my other storybook that after her abduction she is finding life in the world of the dead.  
Bibliography Information: Persephone by Sally Pomme Clayton (2009).

(Persephone cover page from Amazon.)

Topic: Orpheus and Proserpina
Comments:  This would feature Proserpina and the tale of Orpheus going to the Underworld.  I would research some more about Roman myths versus Greek.  Since Persephone and Proserpina are basically the same goddess but there would be some differences!! 
Possible Stories:  Everything would take place from Orpheus's point of view and it would be his journey to the Underworld.  I previously established what parts of the Underworld were like through Persephone's dialogue to Sita in my other storybook, so this would tie into it by Orpheus actually seeing and interacting with it.  He's one of the only people who can because very few can make it out of the Underworld alive.  Proserpina is not a prominent part of Orpheus's story, but I would try to make her a much more fleshed out character.  
Sample Story Comments: In the legend, it's Proserpina who is charmed by Orpheus's music!  So she is the one who ends up saving his life by letting him get back to the land of the living.  However, we know he doesn't follow the one rule she gives him... It would be awesome to expand on such a pivotal moment in a storybook.  
Bibliography Information: Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated by Tony Kline (2000).

Topic: Pirithous in the Underworld
Comments: This is the story that made me like Hades and think that he wasn't a terrible person.  He is the only god that stays loyal to his wife and is very angry when Pirithous tries to take her away from him.  
Possible Stories:  It would be interesting to see this tale from Persephone's point of view and what it would be like to have two visitors like Pirithous and Theseus in the underworld.  Ultimately this would not end well for Pirithous, but maybe this could be a story to make Hades more likable.  
Sample Story Comments: I love that in some legends the two friends are received with welcome arms to the Underworld and invited to sit at the dinner table.  This could be so suspenseful and I feel like even though there's little material there's a lot to work with.  
Bibliography Information:  Pirithous "The Chair of Forgetfulness". 

Topic: Psyche coming to Persephone 
Comments: This could also relate to my past storybook of women in mythology having conversations except these two actually talked!!  
Possible Stories:  I would want to greatly expand on this interaction and maybe have Persephone withhold the box of beauty and make Psyche explain to her what is going on.  Persephone would understand that people do crazy things for love and ultimately wish her luck and send her on her way.  
Sample Story Comments:  I couldn't really find any sample stories expanding on the two of them.  But that means there is plenty of room for interpretation!! 
Bibliography Information:  Cupid and Psyche unit from Apuleius's Golden Ass, as translated into English by Tony Kline (2013).
   

Essay: How Classic Tales Became Fairy Tales

I've been thinking a lot this week about how classic tales from ancient times influenced or became modern day fairy tales.  After reading the story of "Cupid and Psyche", one of history's first fairy tales, I noticed many similarities that could've been tied to modern day fairy tales like Grimm's or influenced aspects of pop culture.

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)

Storytelling for Week 2: The Captive Woman

It all happened so fast.  I woke up this morning thinking that today would be the best day of my life, but this is far worse than any nightmare that I've ever had.  

Suddenly, the carriage I was being carried in came to screeching halt and the bandits leapt from it.  One bandit reached and pulled the cloth from my mouth and all my frantic thoughts came to fruition.  "Please take me back.  I swear I'll never tell a soul if you let me go. You don't have to do this.  Please please please let me go.  I promise I really promise I won't tell,"  I frantically told the troupe of bandits.  

(Image of Jolanda de Almaviva from Comic book Religion.)

The leader looked at me annoyed and one of them stuck the cloth back in my mouth.  I began to scream.  It felt like I was screaming so loud, but it might've just been in my head.  Before long everything started to spin and the wagon got dark.  

When I woke I wasn't in the carriage anymore, but a horse stable with only a donkey to keep me company.  My hands were bound to a pole but I didn't have my mouth clothed anymore.  I started to cry, although wail might be a more accurate word.  It was after dark and I couldn't help but think if today had gone how it was supposed to I would be married right now.  My moans were obviously disturbing the bandits who were camped by a fire outside the stable and they started to argue.  

"Why can't we just slice her throat?  I can't listen to those cries any longer!"  Shouted one bandit.  
"We don't have the money from her family yet.  We may have to prove she's alive before we get it and we're not taking any chances!  Where's the old-geezer?  Send her in to calm her down."  

Then an old woman who I hadn't seen before came into the stables.  She sat next to me and stroked my hair.  "Poor child.  I saw the wedding decorations around the house.  It was your wedding day wasn't it?"  I nodded my head and began to cry more.   

"Sweet girl, calm down.  Here I'll tell you a story about love overcoming all obstacles imaginable and don't worry, it has a happy ending," the old woman whispered to me as she started the epic tale of Psyche and Cupid.  I was enchanted by the way her eyes light up and it made me wonder how she heard the tale.  Out of the corner of my eye I could've sworn that I saw the donkey's ear perk up during every climatic scene of the tale.  After hearing about all the trials and tribulations Psyche faced for her husband, it made this day's events seem like child's play.  

Author's Note:
During the story of Psyche and Cupid, the story is told to a woman who is kidnapped on her wedding day and held for ransom.  The reason she hears the story is to keep her quiet while the bandits can get some sleep, so an old woman tells her the tale.  I decided to write about the woman who gets taken captive in the story of Psyche and Cupid instead of the protagonists themselves because I felt like these events get overshadowed.  This poor girl is kidnapped and held for ransom on her wedding day!!  I just wanted to portray what it would've been like to experience that and unfortunately didn't have enough time to feature her throughout the entire story.  But I also decided to end it with the girl taking solace in Psyche because what she went through was no piece of cake either!!  My overall girl was to draw more attention to a part of the story that isn’t the main part of the plot.  I chose this picture because it was surprisingly hard to find a picture of a captive woman who was not completely depressing.  Also, this girl in the photo is dressed nicely so it’s believable that she would be kidnapped from her wedding day festivities.   

Bibliography: This story is part of the Cupid and Psyche unit. Story source: Apuleius's Golden Ass, as translated into English by Tony Kline (2013).

Reading Diary B: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

This is a Reading Diary that details my thoughts of the second section of "The Story of Cupid and Psyche" from The Golden Ass written by Aphuleius and translated by Tony Kline.  

• Nowadays if a mother wants to know who her son is dating she just creeps through his social media.  I guess in ancient times it was more difficult. 
• Wow. Threatening to produce a better son than him.  That's cold.
• I think Venus was the original "Wicked Step-Mother."
• I would prefer to have birds help me with my tasks rather than ants. haha. 
• Proserpine and Psyche can bond over crazy mothers...
• I forget that Psyche is one of the few who makes in and out of the underworld.  
• She should've learned from Pandora that you never open the box.
• Is this a combination of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty?  
• Judging by the way mythology normally goes I did not expect a happy ending.  But I'm glad there is!
• The ending just makes me think of Shrek.  Wow this story has so much fairy tale influence.  

(Psyche by Waterhouse from the Untextbook)

Reading Diary A: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

This is a Reading Diary that details my thoughts of the first section of "The Story of Cupid and Psyche" from The Golden Ass written by Aphuleius and translated by Tony Kline. 

• I did not expect this story to start at all how it did with the woman being kidnapped.  Not the typical beginning to a fairy tale!!
• You don't hear a lot of stories where no one will marry the incredibly beautiful girl.  
• Just like gods in Greek mythology they are often jealous of humans.  
•  It's so strange how different pop culture versions of characters can vary.  Typically Cupid is depicted as a baby shooting love arrows but in the source material he is a handsome young man.  Reminds me of how Frankenstein's monster is so different in pop culture too!  
•  Yeah I don't know how I'd deal with the news that I'd have a fatal marriage and couldn't have a mortal child "but a cruel savage, serpent-like winged evil" child.  
•  All I could picture during the scene where she enters the palace was Cogsworth and Lumiere being there.  This really is similar to "Beauty and The Beast."  
•  Now I kinda wish Belle had sisters.  
• Nevermind now they sound like Cinderella's stepsisters.  
• Zephyr = Lumiere 
• "Thus, without knowing it, Psyche fell further in love with Love himself."  Love this quote.  
• Nothing good seems to happen to Psyche.
•  
•  (Psyche and Cupid from Deviant Art.)