When the story first opens, lines 1-2 show that its a vague beginning into a magical fairy tale. Just like all the fairy tales that begin with, "Once upon a time..." the opening saying the king and the queen who lived in a certain country relates to the vagueness of not knowing specifically where the characters are. Another element is the fact that there is a "rex et regina" and this relates to a fairy tale because they seem to include royalty in many fairy tales. For example, in The Little Mermaid, Aerial has a dad who is king of the sea and she wants to marry a prince, who is human. The element of Venus asking Cupid to go to the city Psyche lives in and let her be married to the most miserable of human beings, (found in lines 26-28) shows the element of jealousy. The theme of jealousy is a classic in fairy tales such as Cinderella. Her two step sisters are jealous that Cinderella was able to find a dress for the ball, so they shred the dress because they want to be chosen as the next princess for the prince who wants to get married. Just like this, Venus is jealous that all the people are worshiping Psyche because of her outrageous beauty, so she uses her son to make sure Psyche marries the ugliest and most miserable of men.
Another classical story tale element that is present in Apuleius' story is the fact there is a strong emotional tie to the main character. In fairy tales, the person watching usually has pity on the main character. For example, we pity Cinderella because she has done nothing wrong to deserve the orders of her step mother to be a servant. This relates to Psyche when she looks like a "simulacrum bene politum" and yet in lines 1-4, the reader has pity on her because everyone thinks she is gorgeous, yet no one has the courage to talk to her. This leads to her isolation and causes us to feel bad that she is so pretty that no one will talk to her. So, the element of routing for the main character is evident in this story.
The description of the house that Psyche encounters in chapter 3 is also an example of the fairy tale ways. In lines 7-10 Psyche sees all these treasures and there is nothing guarding them. Just like in fairy tales, the place seems like its not even real because there is a plethora of treasures and it's almost like a dream because she is allowed to admire it. Fairy tales usually involve magical things that don't seem real and this is the case when Psyche sees these items. It's the idea of "it's too good to be true." This can be shown in lines 13-14 when the voice comes to her and explains that there is a meal for her and she should get some rest and have a bath. Because Psyche was expecting a terrible night with a miserable man, this comes to a surprise to her. Instead of being at a sad funeral marriage and being scared and trembling, she is treated like royalty. This sense of having the main character getting what they want is also typical of fairy tales because as we know, we don't always get what we want. But, since this story is so similar to a fairy tale, Psyche gets what she desires.
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