Unlock the timeless tale of Psyche, a story of innocence and deception. Discover how the wicked lamiae manipulate Psyche's simplicity and naivety, plotting against her with evil spirits and deceitful plans. Explore the stakes of silence and the dangers of curiosity as Psyche's husband warns her of the impending doom. Dive into the world of Apuleius' Metamorphoses, where fortune is swift and danger lurks around every corner. Uncover the moral portrait of Psyche, highlighting her genuine simplicity and tenderness of soul. Learn how to navigate the complexities of human nature and the consequences of unchecked curiosity.
Extract
[...] C ~ THE STAKES OF SILENCE The paradoxical expression you will not see if you see (If you see my face once, you will never see it again) is a warning against curiosity. For Cupid, the condition of love is trust, love must remain a mystery. The pregnancy revealed by Cupid places the young girl in a delicate situation. The choice divine / mortal » depends on her behavior (keeping silence). The stakes are high: the union of the divine and the human. The word is dangerous. [...]
[...] B ~ THE EVIL ONES To account for their jealousy, Apuleius employs striking terms: 'madness of the swollen » (inflated with madness). It is not anger but a loss of reason. There is gradation: one passes from 'evil counsel» (wicked intent) to 'evil intention » (ruse scélérate), and we end with 'parricide » murder against their blood). The parricide is the murder of a close relative, it is one of the worst crimes: the pietas, the sacred duty of respect for the family, the natural order, is violated. [...]
[...] » Therefore2 if afterwards Therefore, if afterwards those wicked ogresses3 these very bad ogresses come come armed with foul spirits armies of their foul spirits -come, but I know - and they will come, I know - nor would you compare the speech and do not address them at all with the word and if you cannot and if you have not been able tolerate it support this for genuine simplicity due to your natural simplicity because of the tenderness of your soul, and because of the naivety of your soul, certainly you hear certainly or else you do not listen or else you answer nothing at all4 or else you do not answer nothing whatever of a husband. about your husband. So if afterwards these very wicked lamiae, armed with their harmful spirit, come - and they will come, I know - do not address them at all, and if you cannot bear it because of your natural simplicity and the naivety of your soul, at least do not listen or respond to anything about your husband. [...]
[...] CONCLUSION This page is remarkable for its psychological analysis (jealousy) and its stakes (the nature of the unborn child). To found a new family, Psyche must beware of her own family, which, in turn, does not respect the law of the blood. The portrait of a heroine almost a child who bears a child and who is threatened by the monstrosity of her sisters evokes the pathetic. [...]
[...] They are also "pessimae lamiae » (very wicked lamias) : pessimae is the superlative of malae: the degree of wickedness is at its highest point. The lamias being reputed devourers of children, the danger on the pregnancy that is about to be announced is already suggested. These are armed predators with 'noxiis animis » (evil spirits). Fortune, she too, is armed. II ~ THE ORDER OF CUPIDON A ~ PREVENT THE ATTACK Cupidon employs a military metaphor to alert the young woman. [...]
