From a young age, when I walked in a room people
took notice. I never knew how beautiful I was until I got older and more
and more stares were directed towards me. They were never stares of
astonishment; it was more of a mesmerized gaze upon strangers' faces. I
truly did not want the attention. I was known for my beauty but no one
had ever wanted to speak to me or get to know me underneath the surface.
I was the younger of two older sisters who were not known for their looks but
seemed to have life going for them. We came from a prestigious family
where we were expected to marry someone of great potential. My two
sisters had married, one to a lawyer and the other to a doctor. Our
parents were proud of them but concerned for me.
My father became so worried that he took it upon
himself to see a Palm Reader. On the evening of this day, my father
returned home with a saddened look on his face. He told our family that
the Palm Reader had a terrible vision. Because of my beauty, no man would
be brave enough to approach me or feel worthy enough to marry me. I was
destined to be alone for the rest of my life. As my parents and sisters
mourned for weeks over my predicament, I turned to a higher being, God. I
did not know much about God but decided to invest my time in something since I
would be alone forever. I studied the Bible and learned how to pray and
through that process I developed a relationship with God, my heavenly
father.
My parents' concern remained constant for
months. They were especially concerned about how calm I was during this
revealing of my future. I told them about my newfound faith in God and
how I had learned that it’s okay to be alone and that you are never really
alone when you have God. I also had developed an understanding that I am
a precious child of God, a beautiful creation made specifically from his hands
out of love and care. What earthly being would ever love me the way God
does? A mere mortal would never know my heart the way God did and be able
to pursue a relationship with me.
When I became set in my faith and accepted that it
would be just God and me for the rest of my life, I had a peace within
me. I knew that no matter what, God would take care of me and provide for
me. Soon after this revelation, a local farmer approached me on my way to
the town's market. He began to talk to me about the produce he was selling
at the market and was genuinely interested in getting to know me. He
never once commented on my looks or seemed afraid to speak with me. I had
never experienced an encounter like this and was not sure what to think.
A few days passed and I had not
given the event that had happened previously much thought. One evening,
the young farmer came to my house. Shocked, I invited him in and
immediately questioned his behavior. He wanted to get to know me, he
wanted to pursue something deeper with me, and he saw something different with
me. Never once did he mention my beauty. He truly wanted to get to
know my heart and was willing to be patient and loving through the
process. As I shared the news with my family, my heart filled with
joy. I turned to my loving God in a dark time and he showed me what true
love was. I was content with who I was and had learned how to live by
myself. Through that, God provided me a man who was not prestigious but
was loving and true and that is what is really important in life.
Authors' Note: I based this story off of Cupid and Psyche's love story.
I wrote it in first person because I found it easier to tell the story as
if this was something that I was going through. Although I am not the world’s
most beautiful woman, I find it important that men and women should see beauty beneath
the surface. I am also a Christian and this made it easier for me to
write a story of things that I have learned based off my beliefs like Psyche's
belief in the Greek gods. I wanted a love story that showed we do not
need a significant other in our lives but if we become confident in who we are
we could be confident with someone else also. I chose the reading section
of Cupid and Psyche, The Oracle of Apollo , to coincide my story
with. In this part of Cupid and Psyche, the Gods tell Psyche’s dad that
Psyche will have to die in order to have a husband. They
must send her away to the Gods for her to be married. Although this does not seem like a terrible
situation, it was devastating to Psyche and her family. However, because Psyche trusted in the Gods
to take care of her, she met and fell in love with Cupid. He loved her for who she was and they had a
happy ending.
Bibliography:
Bibliography:
Cupid and Psyche, The Oracle of Apollo
Apuleius's Golden Ass, as translated into English by Tony Kline (2013).
Apuleius's Golden Ass, as translated into English by Tony Kline (2013).
Hi Cobi! I have to say that I really like what you have done with this story! I am pretty familiar with the Psyche and Cupid story now that I have done the reading myself and read a few adaptations, so I immediately recognized the story. However, you took a completely different approach to the story than I have seen and was expecting! First, I appreciated that you told the story in the first person. It was interesting to hear the thoughts and emotions of a girl with a curse of beauty firsthand. I have read (and written) retellings of Psyche's story, but I never really considered what she would say about the whole affair in her own words. I also think it was great that you focused more on the narrator finding her identity in Christ rather than despairing at the fact that she may not ever marry. I think this is huge because, for many girls, finding out that they would not marry would be the end of all hope and happiness. I love that you showed that, through understanding of our true identity in Christ, we learn that He is enough and that we don't need a man to come along and validate our existence. Basically, you gave the story a 180 degree turn because in the original, Psyche ultimately does require a man to validate her and she has to learn some harsh lessons because she has no real confidence in who she is. I think you did a great job and I look forward to reading more of your portfolio.
ReplyDeleteHey Cobi! You had a really interesting take on Cupid and Psyche! I read that story this semester as well so I had a slight feeling that the original storytelling was it.
ReplyDeleteYou did a really good job at conveying a message to readers with your story. You provided a very powerful message! To see someone for who they are underneath their social status or looks is a beautiful message! I definitely agree that more people should do that instead of judging others on their looks. It is very much about that emotional connection. It is interesting that you incorporated your beliefs and rewrote the plotline completely to compliment both your beliefs and your original characters. It is not easy to do, but you did a great job at it! Many writers struggle with conveying a particular message to their audience without being overbearing, but I don’t think you did. You wrote just enough to you're your message across to readers.
Another thing is that your story is very well written and easy to follow. I was never lost while reading the story. You were able to get your message across without overloading with information or being too detailed. Keep up the good work!
Hi there Colbi,
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting adaptation on the Cupid and Psyche story! This was one of my favorite stories from this reading unit- I remember I did a special post on it in my reading diary because I thought it was so funny. I’ve read several different adaptations but you took the story in such a different direction – it was so impressive! One of my favorite things is that you told the story in first person. There are so many of these stories written in third person and I didn’t even think about how much of an influence it makes in the text of the story until I read this adaptation. Great job – keep up the good work.
Mackenzie
I just realized I wrote your name as Colbi, rather than Cobi on both of my posts today. So very sorry!
ReplyDelete