Apuleius’ Cupid and Psyche are a married couple that lives according to Roman customs, and knowledge of them is crucial to understanding the story. The reason why Venus can oppose the union is that it was not made properly. Cupid and Psyche are not of equal social standing; they got married without his father’s approval, without witnesses and in an incomplete marriage ritual. These legal obstacles must finally be resolved by Jupiter, who is asked by Cupid to intervene in a legal matter like an emperor presiding over the senate of gods. Psyche’s sisters emphasise that their marriage has led them so far away from home and family that they feel like exiles, but unmarried women, on the other hand, had no place or role in society. Similarly, Roman women were materially dependent on their husbands (as one of the sisters is), married to much older men, having to nurse sick family members, deprived of societal position and material goods due to unequal marriages or improper cohabitation, subject to hateful behaviour of their in-laws, etc. Regarding the theme of mar-riage, Apuleius also heavily relies on stereotypes to drive the narrative.
|
