The first thing I noted when reading this story was the fact that Psyche was so beautiful, it actually kept men from proposing to her. Before starting the story, I figured Psyche would be drowning in proposals but Cupid swept her away. I was surprised that that was not what happened at all.
Foreshadowing was a huge plot device in this story, as well as dramatic irony because as the reader, I knew who her mysterious husband was. Two lines that I picked out that use dramatic irony are "Not even Cupid could compare to you," which Psyche said to her husband, and "If [the child] takes after its father, as it ought, it will be a perfect little Cupid," said by one of Psyche's sisters about her unborn child. I am a fan of dramatic irony when I am reading stories, but when it comes to writing my own, I don't tend to use it. Instead, I prefer for things to be a surprise to both the characters and the readers.
Psyche's sisters were way more malicious than I thought they would be. Who wouldn't be jealous of a sister married to a god? However, planning to ruin that just so your sister won't be better off than you was intense, but true to Greek style. I wasn't sorry to see Psyche get revenge on her sisters at the end of Part A.
Another thing, that I suppose falls under dramatic irony as well, was hearing Cupid warn Psyche time and time again not to listen to her sisters, but know that she would. It made my heart break long before Psyche found out she was married to Cupid. And in the same sense, like when you watch a movie you've seen a hundred times, I was hoping and wishing she might do something different instead.
I'm really looking forward to the rest of this story and then retelling it!
(Amor and Psyche [1589] by Jacopo Zucchi)
Bibliography: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche translated by Tony Kline
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