Styles Brainstorming: Siblings in Brother Grimm

Topic. After much consideration, I have decided to make my Storybook about the stories of siblings in the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. My original idea was to focus solely on sisters in the stories, but after doing a bit of research, I noticed there were more stories about siblings (brother/sister, brother/brother, or sister/sister) rather than stories strictly about just sisters. My overall goal is to find four different stories about siblings and how they overcome varying obstacles or conflict. One story I am definitely planning on including is Snow-White and Rose-Red, which is one that I was originally not familiar with before I started this course. Another story I instantly thought of to include is Hansel and Grethel, a fairy tale most are familiar with. There are plenty of other stories listed not only in the UnTextbook, but also in the SurLaLune Fairy Tales web page.

Bibliography.
Snow-White and Rose-Red and Hansel and Grethel, from Household Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm; translated by Margaret Hunt (1884)

Possible Styles:

Switching perspectives as storytellers. Seeing that my idea is to incorporate stories that include siblings, so my idea of switching the storytellers to show the different perspectives of the characters sounds like a logical plan. My vision is to possible tell the story from one of the siblings and then to switch the tone of the story to the other sibling and explain the story, in first person, how the other one sees, feels, experiences the situation.

Journey. Okay, I will admit, I am piggy-backing off of what your idea, but I feel like it could possibly fit for me too! My idea would be that each of the siblings from each story could have possibly met up (reason to be determined), and their mission is to make to some particular destination that they all need to go to. While they're on this journey, they could each tell their stories about how the challenges they faced, and how they were able to face them because of their bond as siblings.

Reminiscing on old times (reunion). This idea comes from the idea that all of the fairy tales characters know each other and have been friends for years. Each character would be well into their elders years and they have a reunion together. At this reunion, each of the characters begin to tell their stories of when they were younger and how their relationship with their family and siblings changed the course of their fate or how they were able to accomplish big things.

Letters. This idea was little more farfetched, but after careful planning, I think I could make it really interesting. I think it would be a cool idea to have one of the siblings write a story (in the form of a letter) to the other sibling, reminiscing on the old times that they had together. I will admit, this is probably my least favorite idea, but I think if I were to make each story like that, it would become a little repetitive. However, if I am able to fine tune the details, I could make it work!

(Hansel and Gretel by Heinrich Leutemann or Carl Offterdinger)

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))

Week 3 Storytelling: The Mysterious "Wedding" to the Mysterious Groom

(The Wedding Feast of Cupid and Psyche by Giulio Romano)

The day of the wedding had finally arrived. All of the bridesmaids were gathered around the bride to keep her from freaking out. Psyche, who was the most beautiful woman in all the land, was to be wed to a man who people knew very little about. In fact, Psyche had never even seen his face before.

"How am I supposed to marry a man I've never even met before? Yet alone even SEEN before?" Psyche wailed as tears streamed down her face.

For hours, the bridesmaids tried to comfort Psyche and remind her that this was her destiny. Apollo had instructed that Psyche was to be wed up top a mountainside, and that was all he wrote. Her parents were just as upset, if not more, about the entire situation. They couldn't believe they were going to just leave their baby girl in the hands of some mystery guy. But, the god had spoken, and they knew they couldn't disobey.

So, after Psyche had cried every tear and cleaned up her face and dress, the entire wedding party made their journey to the highest hill in the land. Psyche stood hesitantly away from the edge, not knowing what kind of fate awaited her. This was it; there was nothing more she could do than to take the leap of faith and head to the edge of the cliff.

"Okay, Apollo. Here I am. I'm ready to accept the fate. I'm ready to wed. I'm ready to be a wife to this mysterious man," Psyche bravely called out as walked towards the edge, carefully planning each step she took.

The entire wedding party stood at a distance, watching anxiously for something to happen. All of the sudden, a great wind, with the force of something completely out of this world, came rushing over the mountain. The next thing she knew, Psyche was gone! The wind was so powerful, it had actually picked her up off the mountainside. The next 60 seconds were a complete blur to Psyche. She couldn't see or hear a single thing. Where in the world was this freaky wind taking her?

When the wind finally calmed down and the world around her stopped spinning, Psyche began to panic. Her parents, friends, everyone was gone. There was not a single trace of any human touch for miles. Knowing that panic would do her no good, she picked herself up off of the hard soil and began to wander around. Slowly but surely, her nerves began to calm as she walked through field after beautiful field of an array of priceless flowers. Still lost and without a plan, Psyche noticed a beautiful golden gate in the distance. Since she seemed to be completely alone, her natural curiosity told her to approach the gate and checkout what kind of beauty lied inside.

Psyche ran up to the front of the gate, picking up her wedding dress along the way to ensure its safety from the ground. Once at the forefront, a voice from out of nowhere appeared and nearly scared Psyche to death.

"Hello, Psyche. I have been patiently awaiting your arrival. What possibly took you so long? Please, do come in. I can't wait to finally meet you," boomed the enchanted, mysterious voice from nowhere.

Although Psyche was terrified, it seemed as though the only option she had was to enter the palace. The beauty and the magnitude of this palace seemed to be too overwhelming for Psyche. The front foyer was lined with gems of all shapes, sizes, and colors. The handles on each door were studded in diamonds that seemed to sparkle from a mile away. There was something that felt almost magical about the room from the moment Psyche entered the room. As she walked gracefully throughout the palace, beautiful artistic displays from each room caught her attention. The mosaic title floor that lined each and every hallway was a work of art in and of itself.

After she had explored what she thought was every inch of the palace, she was determined to figure out who's voice she had just heard. Almost instantly after thinking it, a shadowy figure appeared from the kitchen. Psyche couldn't make any features of the figure, but she knew it had to be the mysterious man who let her in the castle.

"Psyche, oh my beautiful, beautiful Psyche. You're even more gorgeous standing in the light of the mosaics. I know you are probably wondering who I am and how on earth you ended up here. Well, fear not. I am your husband. Zephyr, god of the west wind, has brought you here upon Apollo's creed. I adore you and we will create a happy life here. Just promise me one thing...you'll never ask to see me. I will be here for you forever, but you are never to see me" boomed the voice from the shadow.

Before Psyche could even reply back, the shadow was gone.

"Okay, weird mystery dude. I guess I will make that promise. I love what you did to the place! I can't wait to stay with you forever!" Psyche decided to call out, knowing that her mysterious husband wasn't here anymore.

The sun had started to set, and Psyche had had an incredibly long day. She knew it was time to turn in, so she wandered the halls until she found a beautiful, king size bed already unmade - ready for her to jump in. Psyche changed out of her wedding dress and nestled into the fluffy, white comforter. Slowly Psyche drifted into a peaceful sleep. She may not know her husband yet, but she knew she wasn't about to let him control her. She had a beautiful palace and a place to lay her head, and that was all she needed - for the time being. Tomorrow was a new day. Psyche was determined to figure out who the mysterious man was, but until then, sleep would have to do.

Author's Note: After a serious spell of writer's block, I finally decided to combine two of the episodes to create this story. The story of Cupid and Psyche is such vast and complex story, so it was imperative to only choose one of the episodes or else the story would have gone on for pages. The two episodes I chose to base my story off of were The Magical Palace and The Mysterious Husband. My story definitely has a bit of a spin to it, but the overlying story is still there. I had to leave some of the details out from the "The Mysterious Husband", but if I could have, I would have rewritten the entire story!

Bibliography: Apuleius's Golden Ass; Translated by Tony Kline (2013).

Reading Diary B: Cupid and Psyche

I really enjoyed reading the second half of Cupid and Psyche; the storyline moved along quite nicely, and I loved learning about each of the tasks that Psyche was required to perform. That being said...

One of my favorite episodes of the story was Venus and Psyche. In this particular scene, Psyche is assigned her first task by Venus. The task of having to sort out each of the grains, I thought, was a very interesting and daunting choice. It gave the audience a sense of rational of the difficult of the task in which Venus gave Psyche. I also think that her first task was an indication of just how hard each task in the future would be as well. And knowing that there just couldn't possibly be one task...

I really enjoyed reading Psyche's Next Task. It was really interesting to me that Venus's anger continued growing at the expense of Psyche's success. It seems as though Psyche's minor misfortunes throughout the story would lead the audience to believe that Psyche would be unsuccessful in completing the tasks. However, because Psyche is able to perform each task she is given with great ease, it drives the storyline along quite nicely by building up the envy and rage within Venus. I liked the quote: "Yet her success at this second dangerous task garnered no favour in her mistress’ eyes" because it subtly demonstrates the feeling of anger in the goddess of love.

Another one of my favorite episodes was The Jar of Beauty. Psyche's trip to the underworld to meet Proserpine was such an interesting read. I couldn't believe that Psyche's first thought in order to make it to the underworld was to jump off of the cliff because she thinks that is her only way there. However, seeing that her luck seems to be increasing with each task she performs, I knew there was most likely another way for her to accomplish her task. At the end of the episode when she finally is able to capture the jar, I thought it was really interesting when she said “I’m foolish to be the bearer of such divine beauty and not take a tiny drop of it for myself. It might even help me please my beautiful lover.” Throughout the entire story, the author is constantly referencing Psyche's beauty and poise. However, she unable to see just how truly beautiful she is, and by saying this quote, it shows the type of character Psyche is. No matter how beautiful and how fawned over she was, she still felt as though she should open up the jar of beauty and "take some for herself."

(Psyche opening up the box of beauty)

Reading Diary A: Cupid and Psyche

For this week's reading, I decided to go with Cupid and Psyche because I was intrigued by the story from the first glance at it during week 1. So far, the first half has been such an interesting read, and I am definitely looking forward to the second half.

One of my favorite episodes in Cupid and Psyche was The Oracle of Apollo. I thought it as really interesting that Psyche's fate, regardless of her beauty, wasn't always great. Before I read this story, I assumed that Psyche's terrible circumstances were to occur as a result of Cupid's doing, but I realized quickly that the story is much more complex than I originally thought. I really like that the story included the entire reading from the oracle, and I thought it was cool that Apollo's reply was written in a poetic nature.

Another episode I really enjoyed in this story was The Magical Palace. The author does a wonderful job using so many descriptive words and imagery to describe this magical place. I thought it was so interesting that Psyche was the only one in the palace that could actually be seen. It brought a truly "magical" sense to the place because all of the servants could be seen, not heard. Another great connection I thought was so interesting was the similarities between Beauty and the Beast. During this episode specifically, the obvious connection was, of course, the magical castle or palace. Like the well known movie, the story explains that the servants are magical and are willing to wait on Psyche hand and foot with whatever she requests. The anthropomorphic household items in Beauty and the Beast are the exact same way; they will do anything to help and serve Belle.

The episode Psyche's Husband Revealed definitely grew my attention because it was the story that I had been waiting to read. I was caught off guard when I realized it was Cupid, simply because I have never heard this story, and I didn't expect for Venus's plan to use Cupid to bring down Psyche to go that route. It was a very important episode to the overall story because it introduces another conflict and storyline to drive the overall story through.

(Psyche Receiving Cupid's First Kiss (1798) by Francois Gerard)