Essay: The Role of Gods and Goddesses in Cupid and Psyche

At first glance, perhaps the easiest overarching theme to address from Cupid and Psyche is the role of women in literature. However, I wanted to take a little bit different route, so I chose to go with the gods and goddess theme. 

In Cupid and Psyche, there are numerous gods and goddesses that are present in the story, so it was hard to ignore. Each character contributes to the overall storyline, and without each and everyone of them, the story would not be able to come to fruition. I found it very interesting that each one of the gods and goddesses have their own unique personalities, and despite them being "divine", they each have their flaws. Venus, goddess of beauty, possesses perhaps the most important and fatal flaw of all - envy, jealousy, and rage. While there are many minor conflicts throughout the story that Psyche must overcome, the overlying idea stems from Venus's envy of Psyche's beauty. It's funny - the idea of a god or goddess in most religions signifies that they are the divine being, often insinuating that they can do no harm. However, most of the gods and goddess in Greek mythology have a fatal flaw that tends to drive inner and outer conflict. I also realized that Cupid's divine power, being the god of love, often coincides with trickery and foolery. Although Venus is the one that initiated Cupid's plan of action, it is he that pulls of the ultimate trick - hiding out from his wife.

I thought it was really interesting that the gods and goddesses interacted with the humans in the story as though there was no indication of any sort of "barrier". For instance, although Psyche is eventually made divine and ends up living happily ever after with Cupid as her husband, Psyche is initially mortal; therefore, her interactions with the gods and goddesses is unusual.

One major connection that I made to other parts of Greek mythology was the jar of beauty that Psyche was required to obtain. The first thing I thought of was the iconic Pandora's box. While the contents of the box (or jar) were not necessarily the same, the overarching concept is. Psyche (a mortal) can't contain her curiosity and insists on opening the jar of beauty, although she already holds beauty no other can fathom. The similar theme can be seen with Pandora (also a mortal) who also cannot contain her curiosity and opens up the box, unleashing evils the world could not fathom. The contents of the jar Psyche possessed did not elicit as extreme consequences as Pandora's act of curiosity; however, the similarities between the two couldn't have been more apparent.

(Pandora; John William Waterhouse (1896))