Psyche and her sisters
Source: Blogspot
After not seeing her sisters for months, Psyche finally
coaxed her husband into allowing them to visit. Psyche was ecstatic.
She sent Zephyr, God of the West Wind and servant to Psyche's husband, to retrieve them as she prepared for their
arrival. She missed her sisters dearly and wanted everything to be perfect.
She rehearsed her cover story over and over, as she didn’t want to make a
mistake when her sisters started questioning her about her invisible husband.
Though she began to love him dearly, she did not want to betray his trust and respecting his wishes for her not to seek out his identity.
After she had waited for what felt like an eternity, Zephyr finally returned with Psyche’s sisters. When she first saw them,
she began to tear up. She thought she’d never see them again. Her sisters were
also overjoyed to see their sister. The last time they had seen her was at her unfortunate wedding. Until that day, they thought she was dead. They were happy to be proved wrong.
Psyche gave her sisters a tour of her lavish home. They were blown away by the golden floors and jewels all around. Once they saw the
palace, they began to question Psyche about her husband, trying to get as much
information as they could. She remembered the story she had rehearsed earlier that day. “He’s
young and handsome, with just a hint of beard on his face. He spends his days
in the hills, and his nights with me,” she said, attempting to be as convincing as possible, since she herself had no idea what her husband actually looked like.
In order to avoid any more questions, Psyche then redirected
her sisters to the dining hall to enjoy a delicious feast that was prepared for
them. Once they finished the delicious cuisine, Psyche then rushed them out the
door before they could question her farther. Zephyr and the sisters then left Psyche's palace to return home,
while Psyche retreated to her bed.
The sisters requested that Zephyr drop them off at a nearby river so they could wash up before returning home. Zephyr agreed and once the sisters were alone and in private, they began to
discuss what they had just experienced. Both were raging with jealousy of their
younger sister.
“Girl, did you see that place?” asked one sister to another.
“Yup, sure did! How is it that she always gets everything
handed to her on a silver platter while we get the short end of the stick?” the
other replied.
The first sister rolled her eyes. “I know right! She has a
handsome husband, and a palace full of gold and jewels, while we are stuck with
husbands that are past their prime.”
“Ugh, it’s sickening how perfect her life always is. Last
night, my raisin of a husband demanded I rub his arthritis-ridden fingers and then asked me to change his putrid bandages. My delicate hands deserve to be
covered in the finest jewelry, and I deserve a golden palace with silk carpets for my fragile feet to walk
upon. Instead, it’s her, like always,” the second snarled.
“I want to destroy that high horse she is on. I want to ruin
everything she has going for her. I want her to be just as unhappy as we are.
She needs to understand what it’s like to not have everything handed to her.”
“What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to hide that she’s still alive from our
parents. I don’t want to tell them of her lavish life, because they’re just
going to be happy for her, like always. Their precious golden child with the
golden life.”
The sisters agreed, and decided to part ways. They had to return to their homes and husbands before they began to raise suspicions to
their whereabouts.
“We will get together another day and devise a plan for how
we are going to make this as painful as possible. We are going to crush her
world and then she’ll have nothing, and for once we might be considered the golden
children.”
Author's Notes: In the original story, Psyche was married to a man she did not know. He only visited her at night when she could not see his face. After a while, Psyche begins to miss her sisters so she asks if they can come visit. Her husband agrees, but asks her to promise not to let them get to her head and cause her to seek out his identity. So, of course, when her sisters come to visit they ask questions trying to figure out who her husband is. My story fits into the original timeline as the first time her sisters came to visit and realize how good Psyche has it. I tried to change the story to where the sisters were jealous in an over-the-top way. Even though Psyche has never really done any wrong to them and loves them unconditionally, they are jealous of how her life has turned out and they want to ruin it. In the original story, the sisters later visit Psyche, but this time she tells a different story. This was the information the sisters needed to bring Psyche down. They then realized that she had no idea who her husband actually was or what he looked like. They return home and thought of exactly what they were going to say to Psyche. The sisters come back for a third time ready to put their plan into action. They tell Psyche that they know who/what her husband is. They tell her that he is a monstrous serpent with noxious venom that has been seen by hunters and farmers swimming in a nearby river. This news scares Psyche into revealing that she does not know who her husband is and that they must be right about his identity. The sisters convince Psyche to seek out his identity the next time he lays next to her, knowing this would ruin the relationship between their sister and her husband.
Apuleius, The Golden Ass; The Jealousy of Psyche's Sisters
Apuleius, The Golden Ass; The Jealousy of Psyche's Sisters
