In class we had a discussion about the story of Cupid and Psyche. The story goes that the most beautiful princess in the land was said to be more beautiful then The goddess of beauty her self, Aphrodite. This rumor angers Aphrodite so she sends her son, Cupid, to go make Pshyche fall in love with the ugliest beast in the land. In the process of doing this task Cupid pricks himself on one of his love arrows and falls instantly in love with Psyche. He then whisks her away to his “castle” in the far away mountains. Psyche's sister comes to visit her and sees that she is not living in a castle but a terrible raggedy place. Some how, over time Psyches’ sister also falls pray to the delusions until a guide brings her back to reality with the power of reason. The guide is not able to bring Psyche back into reality because Psyche is in love with the world that she exists in. In a sense her lack of reason is her longing for death because she longs to be closer to the gods and her love cupid. The moral of the story, those who are deluded by their own fantasies and refuse reason are suicidal in a sense. From the religious point of view the message could be perceived as; one must see reason before delving completely in to blind faith. This story however reminds me of much of the sheltered life that college students live, and could be extended to the comfortable life that most Americans live. We are so distracted by the beautiful world that we make around our selves that we don’t see that the rest of the world is rotting right in front of our eyes.
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