The multiple variations of what I once thought as a concrete fairy tale is astounding. For example, in class we have read multiple tales with the idea of what we all knew as Beauty and the Beast. In this blog, I would like to compare two tales from dramatically different locations and periods in time and comment on the astounding similarities between the two.
The two tales I will be comparing and contrasting is Cupid and Psyche from the times of the ancient greeks and Urashima the Fisherman from early Japan. What is interesting is that both tales involve the divine, unlike the rest of the variations of the tale. For example, in the story of Cupid and Psyche, Cupid’s mother is Venus, a goddess, and in the story of Urashima, the dazzling lady who transformed from a turtle to be with Urashima lived in the skies and was immortal. The rest of the stories read in class dealt with normal people with spells cast upon them with none of the main characters divine, per say.
(Venus ordering Psyche to Fetch Waters)
The variations in these two stories far outweighs the similarities. In the story of Urashima the Fisherman, the female role transformed into a turtle so she could approach him and returned to her female form to ask him to return home with her. In the story of Cupid and Psyche, there were no animals and the ‘Beauty’ was not the one who approached the ‘Beast’ but rather, Venus, jealous of Psyche’s beauty, sent her away but Cupid felt sorry for her and poked her with an arrow. An oracle told her parents that she would marry a beast and she ended up marrying Cupid but could not see him. In this case, it was Venus that was the ‘Beast’ but Cupid represented the ‘Beast’ through his seclusion from ‘Beauty’ and his unknown appearance.
(Urashima’s Love Transformed from a Turtle)
Another drastic difference between the two stories was the conclusions. On the one hand, the story of Psyche and Cupid ended happily with the two ‘Beauty and Beast’ characters living happily every after, immortally, and having a child together. On the other hand, the story of Urashima the Fisherman ended sadly as Urashima broke his promise to his wife and opened the box releasing her soul and lived his life in grief.
(Conclusion of Cupid and Psyche)
(Conclusion of Urashima the Fisherman)
Both stories were written exceptionally early in the history of the world and the similarities in themes is astonishing. The tale of Urashima the Fisherman was written in 713 A.D. and the story of Cupid and Psyche was told during the times of the ancient greeks. What is also interesting is Cupid and Psyche falls in the category AT 425 A (Search for the Lost Husband) while ‘Beauty and the Beast’ themed fairy tales fall within this ‘AT’ as well as AT 420 (The Man on the Quest for His Lost Wife) including the story of Urashima the Fisherman.
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