Characterization in Apuleius' Cupid and Psyche Episode - MacSphere

312 Pages·2011·1.51 MB·English

by  Juanita Elford

CHARACTERIZATION IN APULEIUS’ CUPID AND PSYCHE EPISODE
CHARACTERIZATION IN APULEIUS’ CUPID AND PSYCHE EPISODE

BY JUANITA C.K. ELFORD, M.A., B.A. (HONS)

A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree Doctor of Philosophy
McMaster University © Copyright by Juanita C.K. Elford, June 2011
PhD Thesis – Elford McMaster University – Classics

McMaster University DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (2011) Hamilton, Ontario (Classics)
TITLE: Characterization in Apuleius’ Cupid and Psyche Episode
AUTHOR: Juanita C.K. Elford, M.A., B.A. (Hons)
SUPERVISOR: Professor Paul Murgatroyd
NUMBER OF PAGES: viii, 302

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PhD Thesis – Elford McMaster University – Classics
ABSTRACT
This dissertation is a careful study of characterization in the Cupid and Psyche episode
(IV.28 - VI.24) in Apuleius’ Metamorphoses. In general, although the Metamorphoses
has been the subject of a good deal of scholarly interest as of late, there has previously
been minimal focused examination of characterization in the Cupid and Psyche section.
This dissertation therefore represents an important contribution to current scholarship and
uses a multi-faceted approach which includes investigation of the characters’
relationships to one another, roles, function, speech, intertextual connections, and
questions of genre and authorial technique.

After a brief discussion of preliminaries such as the scope of the study, methodology, and
the isolation of the Cupid and Psyche narrative from the rest of the novel, Chapter One
examines the minor characters of the episode. The minor characters are defined and then
placed into five groups for analysis: the invisible servants, the personifications of the
abstract concepts, the floral and faunal characters, the animate object, and the deities.
Chapter Two addresses the role of Psyche’s family in the narrative, covering her parents’
small but important contribution and her sisters in their larger role as Psyche’s secondary
adversaries. Chapters Three, Four, and Five investigate the characterization of Venus,
Cupid, and Psyche respectively. The Conclusion summarizes the larger picture of
Apuleius and his approach to characterization and reviews some of his favorite
techniques of characterization, as well as his approach to the characterization of females.

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PhD Thesis – Elford McMaster University – Classics
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

in Assumptione B. Mariae Virg. MMXI
Novum Eboracum

It is my happy duty to acknowledge first the guidance of my supervisor, Professor Dr.
Paul Murgatroyd whose corrections and scholarly example have improved this
dissertation immeasurably. The errors and omissions which may remain are, of course,
all my own. The members of my supervisory committee, Professor Dr. Daniel McLean
and Professor Dr. Howard Jones, have made valuable contributions to the present work as
well. I gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Ontario Government and the
Department of Classics of McMaster University. I am no less indebted to those dear
hearts who have offered moral support such as Ms. October Ivey, Mr. Anthony Falcone,
and my parents, Mr. Stewart Elford and Mrs. Loretta Elford, sine quibus non.

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PhD Thesis – Elford McMaster University – Classics
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract...............................................................................................................................iii
Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................iv
List of Figures...................................................................................................................viii
PREFACE
Preliminaries............................................................................................................1
Scope of Study.........................................................................................................2
Methodology............................................................................................................3
Isolation of the Cupid and Psyche Episode..............................................................4

CHAPTER ONE: MINOR CHARACTERS
Definition of Terms..................................................................................................8
The Invisible Servants..............................................................................................9
The Personification of Abstract Concepts.............................................................12
The Floral and Faunal Characters
The Tattletale Bird.................................................................................................19
The Ant..................................................................................................................21
The Reed................................................................................................................24
The Eagle...............................................................................................................27
The Talking Tower................................................................................................31
Deities
Pan..........................................................................................................................35
Ceres and Juno at 5.31...........................................................................................40
Ceres at 6.1.............................................................................................................45
Juno at 6.3..............................................................................................................48
Mercury..................................................................................................................52
Jupiter.....................................................................................................................54
Conclusions........................................................................................................................58

CHAPTER TWO: PSYCHE’S FAMILY
Psyche’s Mother and Father...................................................................................63
Psyche’s Sisters......................................................................................................65
Conclusions............................................................................................................88

CHAPTER THREE: VENUS
Introduction............................................................................................................91
Sources and Models for Venus
Venus Caelestis and Venus Vulgaris......................................................................93
Venus and Love Poetry..........................................................................................97
Lucretius................................................................................................................99
Apuleius and the stock characters of Ancient Drama..........................................100
Myth.....................................................................................................................104
Apuleius’ Venus and Virgil’s Aeneid...................................................................106
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PhD Thesis – Elford McMaster University – Classics
Apuleius’ Venus and Virgil’s Juno......................................................................108
Apuleius’ Venus and Virgil’s Venus...................................................................118
Character Analysis...........................................................................................................121
First Appearance..................................................................................................122
Venus’ Speech.....................................................................................................133
Comparison with other Characters.......................................................................137
Venus’ Status.......................................................................................................142
Venus Inverted.....................................................................................................146
Humor and Wit....................................................................................................147
Venus’ Function...................................................................................................151
Conclusions......................................................................................................................152

CHAPTER FOUR: CUPID
Introduction......................................................................................................................154
Previous Scholarship on Cupid in Apuleius....................................................................156
Cupid’s General Literary Tradition.................................................................................164
Apuleius’ Cupid and Virgil’s Aeneid...............................................................................171
Cupid as the adulescens amans of Ancient Comedy.......................................................175
Importance and Function.................................................................................................182
First Appearance..............................................................................................................184
Cupid’s First Appearance and his Relationship to Psyche and Venus................185
Cupid’s First Appearance and the Narrator’s Description...................................188
Venus’ Speech and Cupid’s First Appearance.....................................................191
Cupid’s Speech and Silence.............................................................................................194
Physical Description........................................................................................................201
Cupid’s Status..................................................................................................................205
Cupid’s Actions...............................................................................................................207
Cupid and the Oracle.......................................................................................................210
Humor and Wit................................................................................................................212
Conclusions......................................................................................................................215

CHAPTER FIVE: PSYCHE
Introduction......................................................................................................................217
Previous Scholarship on Psyche in the Cupid and Psyche Narrative..............................219
Virgil and the Construction of Apuleius’ Psyche............................................................224
Psyche and Dido..................................................................................................225
Psyche and the Venus of Virgil’s Aeneid............................................................230
Psyche and Virgil’s Aeneas.................................................................................233
The General Situation..........................................................................................234
Psyche’s Sisters....................................................................................................236
Psyche’s Labors...................................................................................................238
Psyche and Ancient Comedy...........................................................................................244
The Unusual Application of Psyche’s Comic Elements......................................245
Psyche and Lucius............................................................................................................250
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PhD Thesis – Elford McMaster University – Classics
Psyche’s First Appearance...............................................................................................252
Psyche’s Speech...............................................................................................................257
Psyche’s Appeance and Description................................................................................262
Psyche’s Status.................................................................................................................266
Psyche’s Importance and Function..................................................................................269
Conclusions......................................................................................................................273

FINAL CONCLUSIONS: APULEIUS AND CHARACTERIZATION
Introduction......................................................................................................................275
Direct Characterization....................................................................................................275
Indirect Characterization..................................................................................................278
First Appearances and Dynamism...................................................................................280
Character as Narrative Device.........................................................................................281
Intertextual Characterization............................................................................................283
Characterization of Female..............................................................................................284

BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................289

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PhD Thesis – Elford McMaster University – Classics
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: The Sisters’ Traits..............................................................................................87
Figure 2: Distribution of Direct Speech among Characters by Word Count and
Percentage............................................................................................................136

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PhD Thesis – Elford McMaster University – Classics

PREFACE

Preliminaries:

There has been confusion over the correct name for Apuleius’ novel since antiquity. St.
Augustine states clearly that the author himself approved the title Asinus Aureus.1
Sallustius’ subscriptions in the earliest manuscript make it equally clear that the title
should be Metamorphoseis (nominative plural) or Metamorphoseon (genitive plural).2
Following Winkler’s ingenious compromise (that the actual title is Asinus Aureus, περì
µεταµορφώσεων)3 and for the sake of pleasing variety, I use the two titles
interchangeably. Like others, for the sake of convenience, I refer to the specific portion of
the novel in question as the ‘Cupid and Psyche’ episode, narrative or tale,
notwithstanding the reasonable objections raised by Winkler.4 All references are to the
slightly ammended version of Helm’s 1955 Teubner text found in the Groningen
Commentaries on Apuleius, unless otherwise stated. In footnotes whole works are
referred to by author’s name alone; partial ones by author’s name and page number.

1 De Civitate Dei 18.18.
2 Laurentianus 68.2. See Robertson on the manuscripts of Apuleius’ novel.
3 Winkler, 292f.
4 Winkler, 89f., reminds us that the title, though popular, is unofficial and was not
sanctioned by Apuleius. Moreover, it totally spoils the suspenseful effect of the narrative
to reveal (by its very title!) the identity of the tale’s initially unidentified mystery
characters. It would be, Winkler points out, like entitling a detective novel “The Butler
Did It”.
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