Writing Assignment & Guidelines for CLA 102
1. Read the tale of Cupid & Psyche excerpted from Apuleius’ Golden Ass in the posted
translation by Sarah Ruden (Yale university Press, 2011). Apuleius is a Latin author from
North Africa (modern day Algeria) from the mid-second century CE; his Golden Ass is a
novel, a one -of-a-kind literary work that combines the farcical with low-life characters, and
serious theology conveyed through allegories and hidden Platonic philosophy.
2.
The tale of Cupid & Psyche is located in the exact middle of this strange novel about the
misadventures of Lucius, the narrator and chief protagonist. The mythical account is
imbedded in the larger story of Lucius’ misadventures. For the purposes of this paper,
however, you need only confine yourself to the tale itself, which runs from Book + (at
Section 28) to Book 6 (ending at Section 24).
S. In writing your paper, bear in mind that the tale of Cupid & Psyche is most likely a
philosophical allegory ~-to be more precise, a Platonic allegory about the Soul (which is
what ‘Psyche’ means) seeking to unite with her Desire (which is what ‘Cupid’ represents) as
a way of reaching Absolute Divine Oneness, since a core belief of Platonism is that the
soul, which is immortal, is essentially on a quest to reunite with the Absolute All, aka. the
Absolute Good & Beautiful.
Drawing from your close reading of the text, and supporting your argument with ample
direct quotes from Sarah Ruden’s translation, address the following points and questions: a)
How do the misadventures
of Psyche, her travails, suffering, doubt turning to belief, and
eventual reunion with Cupid help convey Platonic beliefs about the soul, its immortality, its
relationship with the Good & Beautiful, and the agency of Desire?; b) How does the
portrayal of Venus as a vengeful, jealous, and venomous deity corroborate the central
message about the Immortal Soul and what Desire’s role is?; c) For the Platonic message to
work, Cupid and Venus must, in this story, actually stand for two different principles:
Cupid must be the Desire that helps the Soul attain union with the All, while Venus must
stand as a representative of the ‘old belief system’, according to which mortals do not have
divine immortal soul and simply become helpless shades once the body dies; d) in light
of the previous points, explain the frequent confusion identification in this text of Cupid as
Be sure to explain how the structure of this tale is much more than a *fairy tale’ with a pat
Happy Ending. For this, you must try to account for the details that the narrative points to;
for example, who are the helpers’ coming to the rescue of Psyche? Why do they help her?
Your paper must be 8-10 pages in length, double-spaced, in 12 point font, numbered, and
have every direct quote from the text followed by the page number in parentheses.
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