Archetypal Narrative Patterns In Cupid And Psyche

Archetypal narrative patterns are the outlines to events and/or characters in some very famous works of writing. There are six different archetypal narrative patterns. A quest or task a character must pass/perform show up in “Ashputtle” and “Cupid and Psyche” very frequently. Two stories share a lot of similarities when coming to archetypal narrative patterns. These two stories would be “Ashputtle”, written by Manheim, and “Cupid and Psyche”, written by Benson. The two stories share many similarities with the archetypal narrative pattern, a quest or task a character must pass/perform, but there are also some differences.

The quests and/or tasks a character must complete in “Ashputtle” are very similar to the quests and tasks that Psyche must complete. In order for Ashputtle to go the dance her mother declares, “I’ve dumped a bowlful of lentils in the ashes. If you can pick them out in two hours, you may go” (Manheim 854). This is the

Though Ashputtle has completed her mother’s tasks, her mother remarks “It’s no use, You can’t come, because you have nothing to wear and you don’t know how to dance. We’d only be ashamed of you” (Manheim 855). Her mother still doesn’t allow her to go even after she has completed the tasks. She eventually gets a dress and money and goes to the dance but her mother does not allow her to because she just doesn’t want Ashputtle to go. She is jealous of Ashputtle. Psyche has got the box and disregards what Venus says and she open the box. Soon Cupid slips away from his mother and he goes to where Psyche is lying and states, “Again, hast thou almost perished by the same curiosity. But now perform exactly the task imposed on you by my mother, and I will take care of the rest” (Benson 851). Cupid and Psyche live happily ever after and they live forever. Unlike in Ashputtle the mother actually allows this to happen because Psyche has completed the tasks Venus ordered her to