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Reading Notes Part A "Cupid and Psyche"

Cupid and Psyche (Source)
The story of Lucius the donkey begins when a girl is captured.  This first part of the story has definitely piqued my interest.  I like how it starts with Lucius already being a donkey, so the reader does not know how it has happened, only that it has.  This is a writing technique that I like, and have used before.
In this next chapter, the plot thickens, so to speak, and we learn that the young kidnapped woman.  It provides an interesting emotional motivation, that of a woman about to be wed.  This same kind of setup is used with "The Count of Monte Cristo" and I am interested to see if there are any further parallels.
The old woman then began to tell the tale of Cupid and Psyche to the frightened youth.  This was an extremely interesting story, and made up the bulk of this reading.  I was actually a little confused at first, as to what was happening, but it later made sense.  I really liked the ethereal feel of Cupid's house, but am curious as to why it was like that.  Unfortunately, I did not empathize much with Psyche, for some reason, I find it really annoying when characters make truly obvious or dumb mistakes.  I don't like that at all and Psyche's naivete was nearly physically painful in this story.  It needs a dose of Western/Feminist overhaul to not have a so blindingly helpless protagonist.
Story Source: Apuleius and His Golden Ass, Translated by Tony Kline

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