Psyche's Pain and Sabrina's Salvation
A Connecting Thread from Apuleius to Milton to Lewis
Nota Bene: This is a brief reflection I wrote some years ago. It assumes a level of familiarity of some social context surrounding Milton’s life. Rather than lengthening the piece to provide that context, I’ll simply refer you to the essay by Leah Marcus which is referenced throughout. Her summary of the history surrounding the poem is worth a few minutes of your time.
But far above in spangled sheen
Celestial Cupid her fam’d son advanc’t,
Holds his dear Psyche sweet entranc’t
After her wand’ring labors long
Till free consent the gods among
Make her his eternal Bride,
And from her fair unspotted side
Two blissful twins are to be born,
Youth and Joy; so Jove hath sworn– Milton, Comus (1634)
In his masque Comus, Milton uses the Lady to illustrate a reversal of Apuleius’s tale of Cupid’s beloved Psyche. With the recent scandal of the Castlehaven trial, the masque presented at Ludlow Castle “[required] the utmost tact” as Milton tried to approach the cultural subjects of chastity and family relations (Marcus, 235). Within his mask, Milton pays tribute to the classic Greek tale recorded by Apuleius while also giving honor and relief to the Bridgewater family who had stood out amidst a society utterly consumed by reputations and appearances. Both Milton and Apuleius approach their stories with love, but from two entirely opposing sides. In Milton’s Comus, the redemption of a violated woman rests upon the shoulders of her family. Through his writing, Milton presents his own idea of a pardon to the Castlehaven women and praises the Bridgewater family for upholding their familial bonds while rebuking a social structure that unjustly alienated “sexually compromised women,” (Marcus, 245).
The divine lineage of Cupid is comparative to that of Comus. While both have their bloodlines rooted in the heavens, they have starkly contrasted ideals. The self-indulgent Comus does not care for anyone but himself, while the winged Cupid takes great risks in protecting a human woman. If the ruling class of both times had a little more of the divine in them, which would be that factor which made them superior from birth, then Milton’s condemnation of the selfish aristocrats is certain. While not all the “divine” characters behave the same, Comus’ front position represents a societal group that would rather not “put the Damsel to suspicious flight, / Which must not be, for that’s against,” their desires and wishes (Milton, 94). Cupid’s caring and lavishing behavior contrasted against Comus’ demonstrates the perceived societal worth of a virgin. Both Comus and Cupid see the virginal beauty in the Lady and Psyche, respectively, but Comus is only concerned with his momentary lusts while Cupid pursues Psyche for her love. Upon finishing with the Lady, Comus would have reduced her with his “dazzling Spells” to build “as fair a herd as graz’d / About my Mother Circe,” (Milton, 93).
As a result of Cupid’s grace, Psyche finds a life abundant with joys. Her own sisters observe that she had acquired a “great abundance of treasure, and hath gotten a god to her husband,” (Apuleius, 213). And here the pardon of the Castlehaven women begins to emerge. While Psyche’s older sisters are filled with envy and begin to conspire a way to ruin the joy that Psyche had found with the god who loved her, the younger brothers of Milton’s Lady are all that stand between her and utter ruination at the hands of the horrid Comus. With the scenes completely inverted, Milton begins to draw his hosts into his play. The Lady, representing the Castlehaven women whose chastity and reputations had been destroyed, has one hope for rescuing her from being deflowered. The Lady’s brothers swear to “find [Comus] out, / And force him to restore his purchase back,” (Milton, 104). In some sense, even if earthly justice were delayed in this situation, redemption remained possible.
Psyche’s redeemer came in the form of the god who loved her. Despite her family’s hateful interference, Cupid finds his way back to her as she persevered through three trials set forth by Venus. But Psyche’s loss of joy was due to her willingness to give in to the wicked wiles of her jealous siblings. Milton’s Lady faces loneliness and heartache due to a malignant being that completely robbed her of choice. And here the Lady’s savior appears as Milton’s Spirit sings “Sabrina fair . . . Listen and save,” (Milton 110). Sabrina emerges and sets the Lady free from her prison in Comus’ chair. In a way, Milton can be thought of showing how Lady Bridgewater did her part to set her sister free from the awful scandal that has engulfed their household. Though not all the details are known, “records show that Bridgewater offered material support” to the Castlehavens (Marcus, 235). Lady Bridgewater did not leave her sister alone in her moment of weakness and loathing. While the fictional Psyche found no comfort in her wanderings alone, Milton’s Lady found strength in her family as she is not left to the harshness of the fallen world.
In C.S. Lewis’ retelling of Cupid and Psyche, Psyche’s eldest sister finds a kinship with Lady Bridgewater during the final dream in her life. While in the spiritual realm of her mind, Psyche’s sister is told, “[Psyche] bore much for you then. You have borne something for her since,” (Lewis, 304). And in that same vein, the women of the Bridgewater and Castlehaven families bore each other as best they could. And such a redemption, Milton felt, required a tribute of the highest caliber. “Love virtue, she alone is free, / She can teach ye how to climb / Higher than the Sphery chime; / Or if Virtue feeble were, / Heav’n itself would stoop to her,” for in the love of a family is the ultimate virtue found (Milton, 114).
References
Apuleius, Lucius. The Golden Ass. Translated by William Adlington. Edited by S. Gaslee. The Loeb Classical Library. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1922.
Lewis, C.S. Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Publishing, 1956.
Marcus, Leah. “John Milton’s Comus.” In A Companion to Milton. Ed. Thomas N. Corns. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2003. 232-245.
Milton, John. A Mask (Comus). In John Milton: Complete Poems and Major Prose. Ed. Merritt Y. Hughes. Indianapolis, IL: Hackett Company, 1957. 86-114.