Cupid Psyche To Beauty The Beast
Shanee Ellington
Writing 303
Professor Dubuisson
March 17, 2015
A Greek Mythology Compared to a Disney Classic
“Cupid and Psyche" and "Beauty and the Beast" are stories about two beautiful girls with their animal lovers. There are similar motifs that show a close comparison between the two. "Cupid and Psyche" is an old Greek love tale, while "Beauty and the Beast" is a Disney tale with a moral story. The female hero in both stories is Psyche and Beauty. They suffer the wrath by no fault but their own. In Cupid and Psyche, the goddess Venus is jealous of the mortal Psyche’s beauty, and essentially dooms her to marry a beast. In Beauty and the Beast, Beauty is doomed to live in the beast’s castle forever because her father took one of his roses. In these two stories the woman’s fate was determined by others and not by herself. Beauty and Psyche both have older sisters who are less pretty and jealous of them. Their sisters also cause conflict in their relationships with their beasts. While they are prettier than their sisters they aren’t concerned with wealth but more interested in love and kindness. Psyche’s sisters convince her to take a peek of her beast of a husband, and she burns him in the process leading him to leave her. Beauty’s sisters convince her to visit them for a longer time than she promised and the beast self starves himself because of this. They are both curious, Psyche being a little more innocent puts her in more trouble. They sacrifice their family and end up in a beautiful castle, have servants, heard music but never saw another living person around them. Beauty gets to know the Beast and fells in love with his soul while Psyche falls in love with Cupid for who he is and not what he looks like. In both stories there is an importance lesson of having a beautiful soul instead of massive beauty. Psyche spends a good deal trying to please Venus and win her forgiveness. Eventually, she is transformed into an immortal goddess by drinking a
Writing 303
Professor Dubuisson
March 17, 2015
A Greek Mythology Compared to a Disney Classic
“Cupid and Psyche" and "Beauty and the Beast" are stories about two beautiful girls with their animal lovers. There are similar motifs that show a close comparison between the two. "Cupid and Psyche" is an old Greek love tale, while "Beauty and the Beast" is a Disney tale with a moral story. The female hero in both stories is Psyche and Beauty. They suffer the wrath by no fault but their own. In Cupid and Psyche, the goddess Venus is jealous of the mortal Psyche’s beauty, and essentially dooms her to marry a beast. In Beauty and the Beast, Beauty is doomed to live in the beast’s castle forever because her father took one of his roses. In these two stories the woman’s fate was determined by others and not by herself. Beauty and Psyche both have older sisters who are less pretty and jealous of them. Their sisters also cause conflict in their relationships with their beasts. While they are prettier than their sisters they aren’t concerned with wealth but more interested in love and kindness. Psyche’s sisters convince her to take a peek of her beast of a husband, and she burns him in the process leading him to leave her. Beauty’s sisters convince her to visit them for a longer time than she promised and the beast self starves himself because of this. They are both curious, Psyche being a little more innocent puts her in more trouble. They sacrifice their family and end up in a beautiful castle, have servants, heard music but never saw another living person around them. Beauty gets to know the Beast and fells in love with his soul while Psyche falls in love with Cupid for who he is and not what he looks like. In both stories there is an importance lesson of having a beautiful soul instead of massive beauty. Psyche spends a good deal trying to please Venus and win her forgiveness. Eventually, she is transformed into an immortal goddess by drinking a