Psyche is the youngest and most beautiful daughter of a King
and Queen. She was so beautiful that people admired and worshiped her over
Venus. Venus gets mad and tells Cupid to shoot Psyche with an arrow to make her
fall in love with an ugly guy. When he goes to shoot her he gets distracted and
accidentally shoots himself. Cupid falls in love with her and leaves. As the
days go on both of Psyche’s sisters get married, but no one falls in love with
Psyche. Her parents go to the oracle of Apollo and they find out that she will
marry an ugly monster. It also tells them to take her to the top of a mountain
where she will wait for her love. They do as they are told and while she is on
the mountain she sees a castle and decides to go into it. She falls in love
with the man inside but never sees his face. Her sisters come to visit her and
make her find out what he looks like. When they do see him they discover that
he is Cupid. Cupid then flees and Psyche eventually has to approach Venus to
figure out how to get him back. Of course Venus is mad and makes Psyche
complete all these crazy tasks. In the middle of one Cupid comes and saves her
and they live happily ever after.
I can’t think of an AMAZING love story right now, but
Cinderella’s is pretty classic and cool.
Psyche is apparently such a babe that people pray to her instead of to Venus. Venus is jealous (I would be too if I was a goddess of babes and Psyche was that much hotter than me), so she tells Cupid to shoot her with an arrow to make her fall in love with an ugly guy. But Cupid likes what he sees so he shoots himself with his own arrow to fall in love with her. Psyche's parents wondered why she wasn't married yet so they asked Apollo for advice and he told them to have Psyche go to the top of a hill and wait. She does and then theres a huge mansion and she goes inside and falls in love with the man inside it, but she never sees his face. Then one day she does and she is cast out of the mansion and Cupid is mad. Psyche still wants to get with Cupid so Venus makes her do a ton of dumb, impossible tasks. Then when she passes Cupid and Psyche fall back in love and Psyche becomes immortal.
Thomas Hardy was born in England, in a small parish not unlike Egdon Heath. He attended King's College in London, but he never felt at home in the city. He was always acutely aware of class differences, as can be seen in Return of the Native. An advocate of social reforms, the focus on lower class people in his novel reflects this. Several authors who wrote on class divisions and social reform during this period, who happened to influence Hardy's later novels, include John Stuart Mill, Charles Fourier, and Auguste Comte. In 1874 he married Emma Gifford, whose death, although after they became estranged, had a traumatic effect on him. This could be the inspiration for the death of several characters in his novel as well as his initial desire to end the book immediatly after these deaths.
Realism is clearly present throughout The Return of the Native. In both the major plot and the simple interactions between characters, Hardy conveys a realistic nature in his novel.
When Hardy describes the setting of the heath, he uses long, drawn-out explanations in a romantic style, but when he shows the interactions between the characters, they have a truly realistic portrayal of simple, often sad townspeople. This allows us to get an accurate representation of the everyday happenings of the characters. Hardy opts for descriptions of their simple duties in the beginning that make them seem like real people instead of just overly romanticized characters in the novel.
In regards to plot, the blindness of Clym and the death of two central female characters, Eustacia and Mrs. Yeobright, demonstrates more realism in the novel. He could have chosen to end the novel in a more positive way, but he chose to finish it off like he did to make it more like real life. We see the suffering that Clym experiences when hardy writes, "'It was all my fault,' he whispered. 'Oh, my mother, my mother! would to God that I could live my life again, and endure for you what you endured for me!'" (p. 418). We feel Clym's pain through the novel, which makes the overall story feel more realistic.
Hardy pays attention to detail in his dialogue because his characters are conveyed as truly being upset as opposed to giving a long narration of how distraught they feel. He also pays close attention to having a true conversastion between the characters where they stutter or say things they don't mean to, which creates realism in the novel. When he describes the nature scenes, he utilizes imagery that is that is loaded with symbolic meaning. The novel as a whole is a very visual novel. There are often long passages of just the narrator speaking with minimal narration such as Eustacia's introduction in book 1 chapter 7. Hardy utilizes detailed physical descriptions of how the characters look and what they are doing, which often leaves the reader having to infer emotional details. Hardy relies on imagery and symbolism to convey his points.
As the 1850’s progressed, a new ideology came about to which
we are all familiar with: the transcendentalist movement. Spearheaded by great
minds such as Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman, this period was the first time
that America had spawned a true philosophical movement of its own. Particularly
the writings of Thoreau deal with the necessity of nature and how a simpler
life can lead to a more fulfilling existence. This Buddhist-like philosophy is
best demonstrated by Thoreau’s Walden, a novel where he details of doing what
generations of Americans had done before him: be self-sufficient in a log
cabin. I found his writings particularly influential when we reflect on the
literature we read in class, because in Return of the Native (and from what I
understand all of Hardy’s literature) deals with a more simple, pastoral
existence.
Transcendentalism was the main philosophical idea in the
1850s, especially by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Because transcendentalism began as a
radical religious movement and Emerson believed that there should be a better
way to have a conviction of a more personal experience of the divine and
believed that this sort of ideal should be available to all people. The
Transcendentalists assumed a universe divided into two major parts and Emerson
wrote more about the soul aspect, saying that the soul is “all is that is separated
from us, all which Philosophy distinguishes as the NOT ME, that is, both nature
and art, all other men and my own body, must be ranked under this name,
NATURE.” Emerson took a lot of his philosophical ideals and turned them into
more activist national issues, including the abolition of slavery.
Joseph Conrad lived in the late 1800's and early 1900's. He had a primarily romantic style that influenced many authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. He was a well reknowned novelist that had many works like Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim, and Nostromo. All of these novels have a common strain of depressxion and self doubt. This is extremely apparent in Heart of Darkness where there is very little imagery that is not related to some sort of sadness or evil. These themes transcend most of his novels that have all added to Conrad's illustrious career.
Modernist literature originated in Europe in the
late 19th century. It was a break from the traditional style in being
more expressive and poetic. One can see a modernist theme in the first chapter
of Return of the Native which solely
describes the setting, Egdon Heath, in depth. With long, poetic sentences and descriptive
verbs, Thomas Hardy employs a modernist style throughout the novel. Because
previous authors hadn’t used so much energy on descriptions, the novel stood
out as modernist. However, it is believe Thomas Hardy wasn’t completely modernist
because the characters in Return of the Native
resemble anti-modernists perspectives. Whether you agree or not about Hardy's modernist style, the tone and syntax depict a modernist theme in the book.
Thomas Hardy's Return of the Native is well known for its gripping drama and bountiful amounts of description. The latter of those, in fact, being notable in that it was among the first of such writing to be published (1878), later becoming much more prominent in the modernist era. In fact, chapter 1 of the novel is used solely to describe the heath and its qualities, something unheard of back then. However, unlike most modernist novels, Return of the Native puts a much greater focus on how the heath is a haven of sorts where the advancements seen in the city are no present, implying that this rural countryside is pure. This was unusual as until the first world war, most modernist novels concentrated on the benefits of our advancing society, some even imagining a utopian society that would soon come to be. Hardy's writing, like many modernists, may also have been inspired by the likes of Sigmund Freud. The characters of Eustacia Vye and Damon Wildeve, for instance, could represent the idea of the id, the part of one's subconscience that seeks to have one's primal needs satisfied as much and as often as possible, a quality that is represented by both characters' promiscuity and need to manipulate others to satisfy their own whims. On the other hand, we have Thomasin Yeobright and Diggory Venn, two characters that may very well represent the superego, the part of one's subconscience that continually weighs the moral consequences of every possible action, choosing to take actions that will provide the highest moral position. Diggory and Thomasin are the only two characters in the novel to not scheme, and they both tend to put the needs of others before their own, reflecting the altruistic nature of the superego. Finally, Clym Yeobright may represent the ego, the part of the subconscience that balances the wants of the superego and the id. He is neither completely selfish nor altruistic as he returns to the Heath from Paris, wishing to educate the children of the Heath through becoming a teacher, thus giving up his life as a diamond merchant, but at the same time, he was adamant about not returning to Paris against the wishes of his newly wedded wife Eustacia. Thus, while he is shown to care for others, he also puts a high priority on his own desires. As a bonus, he also appears to have mother-related issues, bringing to mind Freud's proposed Oedipus Complex. Thus, one can see that despite Hardy having jumped out of the gate a bit early, Return of the Native still contained many elements that would become mainstays in modernist literature.
The Victorian era was very much one focused on change (althought is difficult to think of an era void of change).With it's newfound industrialization, this era ushered in a growing population of bourgeoisie, who increasingly seemed to be living in self-contained homes. The decline in agriculture and the advent f industrialized manufacturing led the poor to suffer even more heavily. Many were disenchanted with this new shift in social classes. All three of these books touch on this subject in different manners. The importance of being Earnest jabs at the silly and materialistic nature of the wealthy. The Heart of Darkness addresses the isolation and ignorance of the people in England (especially the women). Return of the Native makes it apparent that several of the characters are not proud of their social class and find that moving to a city rather than the heath will alter their reputation and wealth for the better. All three books were published in the latter half of the Victorian era (1837-1901).The Heart of Darkness in 1899, Earnest in 1894 and Return of the Native in 1878. They were closer to modernism than romanticism but displayed characteristics of both.
Although a gay man known for his rather flamboyant behavior in London society, Oscar Wilde had a traditional family of his own composed of his wife Constance and two sons. However, in the fall of 1891, Wilde moved to Paris as a respected writer where he consulted with other artists of the age in salons litteraires. During his time in Paris, Wilde decided to write a play about the biblical figure of Salome, a seductress known for her charm, after his first two plays were not a success. Inspired by depictions of Salome throughout time, Wilde wrote Salome in French. A tragedy, Salome became extremely popular and was hailed as the event of the season in London because of its immense emotional power. Oscar Wilde, following his success with Salome, sought to experiment with comedy to criticize the Victorian society he hated with a passion. Wilde's next three plays Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, and An Ideal Husband sought to expose societal trivialities and gossip, which Wilde regarded as silly and absurd. All three plays became quite popular setting the stage for the release of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Wilde's final play, The Importance of Being Earnest, was something of a stylistic departure from his previoius works. While Wilde's prior plays had often risen to serious and grim themes - even the comedies - Earnest was distinctively flippant. The play lacked many of the features that defined early Wilde plays - the "woman with a past" archetype; villainous or cunning principals; or any real action or violence. The play is, instead, a comedy taking place between idle aristocrats with poor morals, all largely occurring in gardens and drawing rooms - in short, Earnest substituted a sometimes melodramatic decadence from earlier plays for a harshly satirical triviality. It is thus somewhat unsurprising that Earnest, with its somewhat more accessible and lighthearted comedy, became a critical and popular success. Today, the play remains Wilde's most popular work, and is usually considered his masterpiece.
Thomas Hardy, author of Return of the Native, is said to be one of the most eminent poets and authors of English literary history. He was born in Dorset in 1840 and died in 1928.
During his childhood, he was influenced by his father's musicality and his mother's guidance. As he grew older, he found influence for his writing from his rural upbringing in Dorset, which provided him with adequate material for his poetry. These settings gave Hardy's work the rustic character revered by many literary critics today.
As a poet, Hardy was also influenced by other features of Southern England. For example, Stonehenge influenced his poem The Shadow on the Stone. In addition, his interest in Napoleonic Wars can be seen in his work The Dynasts.
In his lifetime, Hardy published about eight volumes of poetry - that's around one thousand poems. His lyric poetry, however, is the best known and mot widely read.
Hardy's style for poetry alludes to musical aspects of language. His descriptive writing is profound and captivating, allowing readers of all kinds to enjoy his eclectic writing.
At it's heart, Thomas Hardy's Return of the Native is a Romantic novel full of intricate decriptions of setting, tragic love triangles, and musings about the nature of life itself. Romanticism, in large part, concerned itself with the personification of nature, and Hardy does in fact use his setting of Egdon Heath as a vital player in Return. Though Hardy is no Dickens, he does decribe every event, scene, etc. with great embelishment and illustrative precision. His characters of Clym and Eustacia are both tragic characters in the classical sense and are filled with the Romantic spirit. Though Clym tries to do his best at every turn (he retired from the diment trade to educate the denizens of the heath), he is beset with misfortune throughout the novel (lack of support from mother, death of his mother, going blind, etc.). Eustacia has large Romantic dreams of love and grandeur and tries to manipulate situations to achieve these dreams, ending in death by suicide. The combination of the vivid and animated description of the heath and the melodramatic characters makes Return of the Native undoubtedly a Romantic novel.
By Abby Ryan and Kristen "Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic." -Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde was one of the original thinkers in the rising aesthetic movement of the late 19th century. Aestheticism was based around the idea that the fine arts (art, literature, music) were not supposed to have a moral or educational purpose. The fine arts were simply supposed to appeal to the senses and give an appreciation of beauty. Wilde is famously quoted as saying "Art for art's sake." This statement beautifully captures the essence of the movement, with it's wit and simplicity. Many consider the aesthetic movement to have died along with Oscar Wilde in 1900.
Psyche was the daughter of a King and Queen and the prettiest mortal girl. Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, sees her and is jealous because she is more beautiful than her. Angered, she devises a plan to punish Psyche for her beauty. She orders her son, Cupid, to shoot Psyche with an arrow so that she falls in love with a horrible monster. He agrees to do this and goes to her at night, but right before he shoots her he sees her and is captivated by her beauty. As a result, he shoots himself with the arrow and falls deeply in love with Psyche.
The greatest love story of all time is the one that I'm in right NOW with the girl of my dreams :-). Ya I'm talking about Helen..... i don't care what you think!!!! I noticed her freshman year and fell in love the moment we waved to each other in the hallway for the first time <3. She's my baaaaaby!!!!! her mom told her to date me so she didn't really have a choice haha !! Today I took her home from school haha! haha I don't know what I'd do without my crazy, beautiful, amazing, wonderful, nice, cool, smart, friendly, fun, great, interesting, and don't forget HOT gf :-) Haha that's why this is the greatest love story!! Please try to find a better love story out there i DARE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU CANT haha
Psyche was the youngest of three daughters, but also the most beautiful, so beautiful that her fans prayed to her and not Venus, the goddess of love. Because the two older sisters were married, her father decided that it was some sort of prank by the gods, so he talks to Apollo, who says that Psyche will marry some sort of dragon-like creature. Psyche is given up by her father, and then Cupid, Venus's son shot the arrow into himself by accident, so they talk to the gods and they decide that Psyche has to fall in love and live with a man who won't show his face. She then has several horrible tasks to do after asking for forgiveness and eventually ends up with Cupid.
I watched this movie the other day and it's honestly one of my favorite movies of all time, most definitely one of my favorite love movies/love stories. It's not as cheesy as most and I nearly cried. Which is big stuff, I've never cried during a movie.
As a child, more than anything I loved my B-movies; my Disney knock-offs. Primarily the Swan Princess. This movie is a work of insurmountable love and magic and power and heart and warmth and love and passion and love. It is somewhat a rip-off of Swan Lake also. Which is fine with me because I love Swan Lake a whole lotta too. Also I probably wouldn't have appreciated Swan Lake as a 7 year old the way that I could appreciate the Swan Princess. There is this one line, where the frog (her sidekick) says "Sure let ze frog drive, frogs are known for zeir vagon driving" in this awesome German accent. Anyway. This is a love story above all love stories. If youve got any extra time:http://www.youtube.com/watch?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6ZcNrSjVzA&list=TLgJsh37Xn3TrtpDjPV70i6Dwyxc4lZrUu
Psyche is super hot and Venus is like nah so she tells cupid to shoot her with a 9 mm arrow and make her fall in love with someone super ugly but the cupid sees her and sees how pretty she is so he pokes himself again but then Psyches parents are like why hasnt she gotten married yet so they ask the advice of Apollo and hes like tell Psyche to go on a hill and she does and when she wakes up theres a huge mansion in front of her and she falls in love with the guy who owns it and one day she gets so curious as to who shes living with so she takes a peak at him and sees it's Cupid and Cupid is pissed cuz she wasnt supposed to see him so Psyche goes to Venus to get help and ask for her love back and shes like fine only if u do all these impossible tasks and she does it bc she loves Cupid so much and eventually Cupid comes back to her and they get married. The end.
The greatest love story of all time is that of my parents.
In a country where arranged marriage was the norm they had a marriage based on love. That's cool
A king and queen had three daughters. Of these, the most beautiful and youngest was Psyche, who was thought to be the second coming of Venus. Of course, she had many admirers, the most noteworthy being Cupid, the god of desire, who fell in love after a jealous Venus ordered him to carry out revenge for her. An oracle states that Venus's potential suitor will be a horrible monster that will consume her. She eventually comes upon a house where she meets a stranger whom she is unable to see very well. She begins looking forward to repeated visits, but he always leaves her before sunrise, so that his form is never revealed to her. She then becomes pregnant. Her envious sisters tell her to figure out the identity of the man, warning that it may very well be that monster. A plan is devised for her to carry a lamp in order to see his form and a dagger to kill him. When she sees his form, however, she is so startled that she drops the lamp and injures herself on one of his arrows. Cupid then flees, leaving Psyche. Psyche's jealous sisters attempt to act as replacements but ultimately fail. Cupid begins wandering the Earth looking for her lost love. Eventually, she comes into the care of Venus, who, after having Worry and Sadness torture her for a bit, gives her a few trials as Cupid recuperates inside of her house. After completing these trials, Cupid's wounds have healed and he sneaks out. Cupid asks Mercury to convene an assembly of gods, where he tells Venus to back off from Psyche and then gives her Ambrosia, granting her immortality and allowing them to be wed as equals.
I do find it quite interesting that it is the female rather than the male that is going through trials for her significant other, something not often seen. At the same time, however, Cupid is put on a bit of a pedestal in this story, having Psyche's sisters flinging themselves at him and damaging their sisterly bonds. All in all, it's an interesting story, but not one that I would dwell on for too long personally.
As for the best love story ever told? Quite clearly that would be Pikachu and the ketchup (sorry, this is a topic that I'd prefer avoiding an actual discussion on).
The story of Cupid and Psyche begins with the birth of a girl named Psyche to a ruling family of some unnamed city. Psyche was the youngest of three daughters to the king and queen of the city, and although both of her sisters were extremely beautiful, she was clearly the most beautiful out of the three. In fact, she was so beautiful that some people began to neglect the proper worship of Venus (the goddess of love and beauty), instead worshipping Psyche. This, of course, made Venus very angry, and so she sent her son Cupid (the god of love and beauty) to enact her wrath on Psyche. Cupid, however, fell in love with Psyche once he saw her and refused to fulfill his mother's bidding. Meanwhile, as Psyche grew older, her parents became increasingly worried that she would never marry, considering her other two sisters had married long before then. Seeking assistance in guiding their daughter's future, they consulted the Oracle at Delphi, but the prophecy foretold to them was disturbing. They were told to "expect no human son-in-law, but rather a dragon-like creature who harasses the world with fire and iron and is feared by even Jupiter and the inhabitants of the underworld." Unsurprisingly, they were not pleased by this vision and, in an effort to protect their daughter from monster foretold in the prophecy, they conducted to the peak of a rocky crag, where she would be conveyed by Zephyr, the West Wind, to the "unknown." Zephyr carries her to a verdant meadow and, after promptly falling asleep, she awakes to explore her surroundings. In a grove, she finds a splendidly ornate house decorated with precious metals and other valuables. As she enters the house, a disembodied voice calls out to her and eventually leads her to the bedroom. Curious, Psyche follows the voice and discovers, in the bedroom, its mysterious origin: an inscrutable, cryptic figure shrouded in darkness. Although she is in inexperienced in romantic affairs, she allowed him to take her into bed. These encounters became commonplace, and she eventually began to expect a child. However, she also became curious as to who the mysterious man in the bedroom was. So, one night after the figure had fallen asleep, Psyche brought a dagger and a lamp that she had hidden in the bedroom, believing the figure to be the monster described in the prophecy, yet the light revealed the most beautiful creature that she had ever seen. The figure was Cupid, who had desired Psyche since he first saw her some time before. Unfortunately, in the process of uncovering Cupid's secret, Psyche accidentally spilled hot lantern oil on him and burned him badly. Shocked, Cupid fled the house and left Psyche alone. Grieving over the departure of her new husband, Psyche began to wander the land in an effort to find him. She is eventually visited by Venus who claimed that she would allow her reunion with her son if she could complete three trials, which included sorting a pile of grains before dawn, fetching golden wool from a flock of dangerous sheep, and collecting some of the water from the river Styx in a crystal vial. She completed all of these tasks with aid from the gods, yet one final task still remained. For her final trial, Psyche was to venture into the underworld and obtain a box containing a dose of beauty from Proserpina (Persephone), queen of the underworld. Proserpina takes pity on Psyche and allows her to have the box; however, she is warned not to open the box (somewhat like the story of Pandora's box). Of course, it would not have made for an interesting story if Psyche had not opened the box, so it came to pass that Psyche, overcome by curiosity, opened the box. She immediately fell into a deep stupor, and it seemed as if her quest to find Cupid would not never be accomplished. But Cupid, now fully recovered from his injuries, found Psyche and woke her from her stupor. Reunited, Psyche and Cupid present the box to Venus and live happily ever after. I am not much of a fan for romantic stories of any kind. Such stories are often too sweet and, honestly, rather depressing. Romeo and Juliet is often considered one of the best love stories of all time, yet I did not enjoy reading the story since it is so tragic; almost everyone dies in the end. Although I am not much interest in romantic stories, I do believe they should end happily. Thus, the story of Cupid and Psyche is a good love story in that the characters are united in the end. Besides this story, I do not have much more to say on the topic of romantic literature.
Psyche is the coolest girl in school and the aging former hottest person gets super jealous of her rocking bod and orders cupid to force her to fall on love with some nerd. This doesn't exactly work out because Cupid is a reasonable dude and he decides not to perform the duty he was charged with because then he wouldn't have a shot in the world with Psyche. Instead Cupid falls in love with her and leaves for the moment (foreshadowing). Then an oracle tells Psyches parents that she is destined to end up with a monster which does not sound at all appealing and they completely over react by sending her to live on a mountain which back then was like going to an all girls school I guess. Anyway she is blown off the mountain and lands in a meadow with a house in it. When she is in there she has a short prostitution phase which I guess is just her rebelling against her dad for sticking her on a mountain. Then she finds out the person in the house was Cupid the whole time and they live happily forever after.
Psyche was the prettiest mortal girl, and some claimed she was prettier that the Greek Goddess of love. Aphrodite noticed all the attention that Psyche was getting, became jealous, and ordered her son, Cupid, to shoot Psyche with one of his arrows and have her fall for an ugly monster. When Cupid sees Psyche, he is entranced by her beauty and shoots himself with his arrow. With Psyche straying away form finding true love, her parents visit Apollo, and he tells them that their daughter is destined to marry a monster from the top of a mountain. When Psyche learns of her fate, she agrees to live with it. She meets her husband, whom she can only meet with at night so no one will see him, and this monster is really Cupid. Psyche begins to miss her family and asks for her two sisters to come and visit. Her sisters lead her to believe that her husband is waiting to feast on her one night, so one night she shone a light into his face and was surprised to see such a pretty face. Cupid felt extremely betrayed and told her they could no longer see each other and leaves her feeling guilty. Psyche asks for forgiveness and she is asked to prove her worth. Upon completion of her punishment, Psyche is sent a box of beauty, but is warned not to open it, but her need for beauty is too much and she falls into a Stygian sleep. Psyche is left laying in the middle of the road, but Cupid gets over his issue begins to miss her. Cupid pulls a punch of strings with all of his God and Goddess friends. Long story short the two fall in love and have a daughter.
Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle. First off LOVE this movie, so good, and anyone who hasn't seen is missing out. Tom Hanks plays Sam Baldwin, a father whose wife has passed. Over a year after his wives passing Sam is still distraught and his son schemes him into pouring his heart about his magical marriage on a late night radio talk show. Tons of women happen to be listening in on this talk show and instantly fall in love with him, and among the group is Annie Reed, Meg Ryan. Sam is inundated with letters from women all over the country, but it is Sam's son who takes particular interest in Annie's letter, and does whatever it takes to get the two of them together.
Psyche,
the daughter of a king and queen is beautiful—so beautiful, in fact, lots of
people come to see just how stunning she is. Some say she’s even more beautiful
than Aphrodite, which is of course very upsetting for the goddess. She sends
Cupid to punish Psyche by forcing her to fall in love with an ugly man. Turns out, Cupid can’t do the deed because he has too much testosterone running
through him to pay attention to what he’s doing and ends up falling in love
with Psyche. Later when the king and queen talk to the oracle, he tells them
Psyche is destined to marry a monster and tells them to leave her on a
mountain. She ends up in this big castle, ya know regular fairytale stuff and
she ends up marrying Cupid. One night she decides to stand over him with a
knife. Logically, Cupid’s pissed so he leaves. The castle disappears and Psyche
is alone again. Then Psyche’s bitch sisters try to get to Cupid but they end up
just committing suicide on accident. Psyche wanders around moping for awhile
and eventually comes across Demeter and she instructs her to beg Aphrodite for
forgiveness. Shit goes down and Psyche completes many impossible tasks for her
with Cupid’s help. Psyche receives a box and then opens it, even though she’s
told not to, and collapses. Cupid wakes her up and after more drama Cupid and
Psyche are finally together forever. Yay.
One
of my favorite stories is The Little Prince. This prince from another planet
falls in love with a rose and nourishes and protects her. Even when they have a
disagreement, they reconcile and the rose urges him to continue on to his
journey. I love this story because this little prince is pretty mighty overall.
Psyche is more than stunning or gorgeous or striking; she is beauty at its core, so much so that people worship her. This, of course, angers the goddess Venus, who schemes to ruin Psyche. She orders her son, Cupid, to pierce Psych with an arrow and consequentially make her fall in love with the ugliest man alive (ew). But alas - her beauty is a force field...leading Cupid to shoot himself with the arrow instead.
Meanwhile, Psyche's family gets pretty worried that she won't ever find a husband (oh, the irony). They seek advice from Apollo, who instructs Psyche to venture up a hill. She falls asleep there, and when she wakes, she discovers an ornate mansion right before her eyes. That night, she falls in love with. The catch, however, is that she never sees him face to face. (How do you fall in love with someone you've never seen?) Anyway, long story short, Psyche eventually sees him, Cupid, asleep. But apparently, this is totally not cool. Curious to see what the man you live with looks like? How absurd! She weeps and weeps over her lack of faith while Cupid deserts her.
Now, Psyche LOVES Cupid. There's nothing she wouldn't do for him. And she sure as hell proves it as she steadfastly takes on every challenge that Venus throws at her. She sorts seeds in one night, eats only a piece of bread for dinner, retrieves a golden fleece, and more. Eventually, Cupid forgives her and they get married. To make the story even more sweet, Venus eventually obliges and supports their marriage.
Okay, now to the part I've been really really excited to write about.
So I just freaking finished Insurgent and I cannot stop freaking out like oh my god I can't. I know I sound so weird and fangirly but oh my god I keep google imaging Four/Tobias and watching the trailer for Divergent even though I've seen it like a dozen times and I've been stalking Veronica Roth's twitter who, BY THE EFFING WAY, IS A NORTHWESTERN ALUM!!!!!!!!!
Okay so anyways, the best love story of all time - okay, probably not the best but I'm currently so obsessed with it that there's no way I COULDN'T write about it - is between Tris Prior and Tobias Eaton. In this dystopian world, they find true love and faith and trust and comfort and bravery and kindness and peace and intelligence and selflessness (DO YOU SEE WHAT I'M DOING *nudge nudge*) within each other. They respect and understand one another and Four's really masculine and sensitive at the same time so that's a plus too ya know. They are simply perfect. They are youthful but they are impressively mature when handling their relationship - especially since they often find themselves in life/death situations and struck by bone chilling adversity.
NOW FOR AN ONSLAUGHT OF DIVERGENT STUFF. YOU'RE WELCOME.
