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Characterization in Apuleius' Cupid and Psyche Episode 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 ii 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. iii 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. iv 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 v 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
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