Essay: The Trickster, the Hero, and the Fool

Unlike last week, there wasn't one specific motif or topic that necessarily stuck out in Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories, but rather a whole bunch of them. Each story within the unit had a different focus, but I decided to stick with The Secret Name of Ra. The storyline features a blatant trickster and fool; however, it also features a hero. The ironic thing is, the trickster and the hero are the same person.

Early on the story, the reader learns that Isis has developed a plan to trick Ra into releasing his "secret name" and in doing so, also will release his power to her. This is the first sign of trickery, and the entire story ends up focusing on how Isis completes her task. The fool, then, becomes Ra. Although he falls victim of Isis's serpent from the beginning, he stays strong, even if only for a little while, and doesn't give into Isis's requests. However, in the end, Isis is able to convince him to give up the secret name. In doing so, Isis, ironically, becomes the hero. Ra is struggling from extreme pain from the serpent bite, and Isis offers her healing powers, only if Ra will give up the name. Although the typical definition of a hero in literature tends to be "the one who does the right thing for the greater good," it is hard to discount Isis. She is not necessarily the "hero" that everyone hopes for, of course, because even though she saved Ra from dying (which seems like the "heroic" thing to do), the audience should remember that she is one who put him in that situation in the first place. So, although her acts "appear" heroic near the end, she is still the trickster of the story. Without her, he would have never been bitten by the snake in the first place, and he would have also not been tricked into revealing his secret name.

(Statue of Isis on display at the Louvre)

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))