Amor and Psyche

Ellen Walz

Betrayal and Love

Betrayal happens in all types of relationships. It can seem devastating to have a loved one prove disloyal, but is there is something to be learned out of the unfaithfulness of those you hold most dear. In Amor and Psyche, by Erich Neumann, betrayal comes in all forms. If these characters would look past their initial pain, like Amor, their relationships could grow because of betrayal.

The first glimpse of betrayal is what brings Amor and Psyche together. Venus, Amor’s mother, is devastated to find out a woman is almost as beautiful as she is. This envy drives her to beg her son to avenge her reputation.

I implore you by all the bonds of love that bind you to her that bore you, by the sweet wounds your arrows deal and by the honeyed smart of your fires, avenge your mother, yes, avenge her to the full and sternly punish this rebellious beauty (5)

Amor was supposed to shoot Psyche with an arrow that would cause her to fall in love with the most vial man. Instead of being true to his own mother, he betrays her. He sees Psyche’s beauty for himself and decides to make Psyche his bride. This shows betrayal of the love between mother and child. This love is binding. Betrayal in this relationship will not cause the relationship to end, because there are ties. The bonds you have in a mother - child relationship cannot be broken. A mother’s love is unconditional, no matter how far you push the limits. If they work through the problem together they can make their bonds stronger.

Psyche’s jealous sisters make the next betrayal. When Psyche allows her sisters into her home she has takes a risk. She must be careful not to say too much, and give away her secret. Her sisters catch on to this, and realize something is being kept from them. They become very jealous of everything Psyche has. Then, in all their bitterness, they scheme to figure out what she is hiding from them. “If I am a woman and have a spark of life in me, I’ll oust her from her fortune…let us return in our might and crush her pride”(17). Eventually, they get Psyche to believe that her husband is an ugly serpent with a thousand coils. This causes Psyche to turn the light on Amor. This type of betrayal is sisterly betrayal. It is a betrayal by those that Psyche held dear. This type of betrayal could permanently damage the relationships between the sisters, if they can overcome this betrayal it will make their relationship stronger. In deciding whether or not to forgive, Psyche must first figure out how much her sisters mean to her. The emotions and memories brought up by her thinking would make Psyche realize that her sisters are worth giving another chance. They were the ones who, in the first place, were grieving for their departed sister.

The most last betrayal happens between Amor and Psyche themselves. Amor treats Psyche very well, giving her everything she wants and desires, with only a few simple requests in return. His first request is “if you should chance to hear their [your sister’s] lamentations, answer them not, do not even look forth from the house, or you will drive me to bitter woe and yourself to utter destruction”(12). Next he asks Psyche to not let them