Cupid and Psyche is the story of a mortal maid, Psyche, whose striking beauty caused even Venus, the goddess of beauty, to be jealous. Venus then sent her son Cupid to cast an evil spell upon the girl. However, upon seeing her face Cupid ends up falling in love with Psyche, and they wed and live together in his castle. Psyche’s jealous sisters cause her to doubt her husband, whom she had never seen in person. Overcome with suspicion, Psyche sneaks into Cupid’s bedchamber to see his monstrous face, but instead finds the most irresistible of all the gods. Overwhelmed by his beauty she accidentally wakes him. Cupid is hurt by Psyche’s betrayal, and so leaves her. Psyche, brokenhearted, is left determined to earn back her husbands trust - whatever it takes.
There are several morals imbedded in the story, but one that particularly stood out to me was the concept of trust in a relationship. When Cupid finds Psyche by his bedside, he exclaims, “Love can never dwell where there is suspicion”. Because Psyche had doubted her love for Cupid, she ended up losing everything. Trust is an essential part of a relationship, and is required in order for there to be love. Also, Psyche’s act of trying to secretly see Cupid’s face clearly breaks his rules, and she is punished by Cupid leaving her. This story reflects the idea that there are always consequences for disobedience. These examples show that love and obedience are important virtues for the Greeks, and that is what is to be taken away from the story.
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