C.S. Lewis Myth Interpretation

I agree with Lewis’s interpretation of the myth. Lewis added more background detail and side story to add substance to the novel, but the story of Psyche and Cupid was accurately portrayed. In the original myth, the majority of the text is about what happened to Psyche. A notable difference is that it only really discusses Psyche’s feelings, and additionally is from the point of view of a narrator and not from one of the characters.

The traits and experiences of Psyche’s family are inventions of Lewis, but they are all consistent with the information presented in the original myth. The sister with the “bald, feeble, and miserly” husband could be Redival, as this sister seems to be shallow and concerned mainly with physical appearance. The sister with the husband with sciatica, “whose hands were ruined by his plasters and poultices,” could be Orual. Her ruined hands represent her ugliness and the fact that she must always act as a nurse and not a wife represents her low self image. The king in the novel is coarse and mean to his daughters, and Orual to a much greater extent. This is a fair judgment of character because in both the novel and the original myth he quickly gave up his daughter to be sacrificed. (Kenney, 122)

The parts of the novel that talk about Psyche’s journey and her dealings with Cupid are consistent with the original myth. The people worshipped Psyche as a God. “Heal us, heal us. The Princess with the healing hands!” The Fox said that the Gods would not be jealous, but this was untrue as Venus was angered by this. In both Cupid was angered when Psyche gave into her sister’s wishes: “Wait till he--or it--sleeps. Then look.”

A prominent idea in the original myth seems to be jealousy, and this also a dominant motif throughout the novel. In the original myth, the two sisters are unhappy about their own marital situations and jealous of Psyche, not only because of her superior beauty but also because she has been chosen to wed a god. Venus becomes jealous of Psyche when she is worshipped as a Goddess instead of her. She is so jealous that she decrees that Psyche must marry “some completely degraded creature.” It is not explicitly said, but Psyche is jealous or covetous of Venus’s beauty as shown when she opens the box that she received which was not meant for her.

In Till We Have Faces there is lots of jealousy. Redival is jealous of Psyche which causes her to gloat about Psyche’s being worshipped as a Goddess. Her and Batta are jealous which is why they are always gossiping with each other. Orual loves Psyche dearly but is obviously jealous of Psyche’s beauty that Orual lacks, and is also jealous of her life when she is chosen to marry a god.

Rather than be happy for Psyche as a good sister should, she does everything in her power to take away Psyche’s happiness. Orual travels to the mountain valley that Psyche goes to to live with Cupid, and when she cannot see the palace that Psyche lives in, she immediately dismisses it as insanity on Psyche’s part. She never seems to consider that the palace is of a divine nature, but selfishly disregards her sister’s claims, even when presented with the evidence that Psyche does not have the appearance of someone who has been living in a mountain valley for days with nothing to eat but berries.

Another theme in the original myth is masculinity. Venus, the feminine character is the antagonist of the story, and also causes plight for Cupid. The element of men being dominant is a constant motif in Till We Have Faces. This is first seen in the King’s contempt for women as he treats Orual like his rag doll in the way he beats her and throws her around. Bardia, who is very nice to Orual, makes comments about how Orual would have made a fine man and how it’s a shame that she is a female, “Oh Lady, Lady, it’s a thousand pities they didn’t make you a man.”

Lewis took main themes from the original myth and carried them over into his novel to turn it from just a myth into a neatly woven and detailed, emotional novel. He kept all the main aspects of the myth and all of the back story involving Psyche’s family adds depth to the novel and gives the reader a better insight into Psyche’s life and how the jealousy of her family kept her down. In the end, Psyche gets Cupid like she deserves, and the views of her family that Lewis gives make Psyche’s victory all the sweeter.

Works Cited

Kenney, E. J., ed. Apuleius: Cupid and Psyche

Buxton, Richard. The Complete World of Greek Mythology.

New York: Thames & Hudson, 2004.

This book is a treasury of Greek myths. It is very comprehensive and well illustrated. It relates the myths that it discusses to their relevance in Greek society.

Kenney, E. J., ed. Apuleius: Cupid and Psyche

United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

This book contains the complete tale of Cupid and Psyche as told by Apuleius. It has detailed commentary about the tale and offers explanations and discussion. The book was intended to be used by studiers of Greek mythology and was a good aid in writing the paper.

Schakel, Peter J. Reason and Imagination in C.S. Lewis : a Study of Till We Have Faces

Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1984.

This book discusses the “Reason and Imagination” in the story, which is very relevant to this assignment as it compares the actual myth to the elements that came from Lewis’s imagination. Schakel offers critical analysis of the novel, as well as essays by other authors on the same subject.