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The Golden Ass
The Golden Ass - M. R. 2013
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Discussion - Week One - The Golden Ass - Books 1 - 4
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Coincidentally, I just finished Book 4 this morning. So, yes, I'm halfway through Cupid and Psyche.Having fun with this! It's goofy and ridiculous and it was on my General Education syllabus in college but, like everything else on any freshman syllabus, I didn't read it. So it's nice to catch up.
But here's my question: why was this on my syllabus? I gotta say...so far it doesn't seem very important. Amusing, and I definitely snickered when the dude's girlfriend is all "Make love to me as though I were a boy!" (end of ch. 4) because I'm, like, 12.
But...in what seems like a meta moment, the protagonist says it's predicted that "I would write a long book about it which nobody, however, would take seriously." (Ch. 2) Well, I don't. Isn't this sortof just Metamorphoses light?
Mod
Having fun with this! It's goofy and ridiculous and it was on my General Education syllabus in c..."
According to something I read somewhere, this book is one of the few (or maybe only) complete classic Latin texts in existence. Is that enough to make it important? Maybe... we'll know more when we finish book 11.
I read this a few times over as a Classics major in University. I've written many pages about this and thought about way too much. It's one of my favorite novels of all, especially because (you're right, Jim) it's the only complete Roman novel to make its way down to us. Without giving too much away, if you can think of it as allegory (especially in the second half) it takes on a much deeper meaning.
Aight cool, Eumachia, thanks for that. I will keep my eyes open.
Mod
I was curious about why you picked this, Jim. Is this really a realistic world? So far there seems to be a fair amount of magic in general - although I guess it's all coming from whats-her-name, Mario's wife. You're planning to argue that this was an influence on magic realism? (Not that I'm saying I plan to disagree - just curious about your thought process.)
Mod
Well, magical realism is one of those types of things where people like to draw a circle around a collection of books and writers and label them 'this-ism' or 'that-ism'. If I were going to pose an argument, I would say simply that magical elements existed in fairly realistic books eons before Borges arrived. But then, I'm not a literary critic or an academic trying to sell a book, so it's easier for me to flex the boundaries. Apuleius, Rabelais, and Swift are a few samples of what I would propose - plus they're pretty good books. I wouldn't try to make an argument that they are an influence, so much as part of a larger tradition than the post-WWII Latin boom (or whatever it's marketed as).
Ah! That's an excellent point to make and I am on board for that idea. Cool.
True history by Lucian of Samosata is another example..
i'm enjoying revisiting this novel again after such a long time. i like the presentation of the Hero/protagonist as a whiny child, similar in style to the epitome, my pal jason in the argonautica. i have to question whether he is being honest with his readers when he tells us that as a human, he was able to satisfy himself with "a mere loaf or two" and yet as an ass his appetite is such that he eats until dawn. certainly the robbers think his appetite is a little above and beyond. :Pi am reading the graves' translation again but forsook the introduction so i don't if much is made at all of the fact that this the story is a milesian tale, and that this was a well-established genre of the ancient world which we don't seem to have any other complete extant sources for this tradition. there's a revival in some way between this mode of storytelling and the picaresque novel though milesian tales are almost always described as erotic and i'm not sure that's a necessarily prominent feature in the picaresque.
i like the mention of the true history by lucian which is another old favourite of mine. i remember first reading it and thinking -- wait, i know this story, and they realized how much of it had been pillaged by the adventures of baron munchausen.
both of these texts charm the pants off me, and each seems to stand as early templates for fantasy and science fiction. and of course, don't even get me started about the intertextualities. :)
At first I couldn't get into the book at all, but around the time of the trial, I started laughing & now find it pretty hilarious. I hope it doesn't go all dark on me.
Mod
I'm almost finished and there isn't anything I would call "dark" in the book. Mostly lots of misfortune, but done in a comic, slapstick style, so you're safe to continue, LOL!
Thanks Jim! I can plough ahead with confidence.
Book 1 – A brief prologue, then we meet our protagonist, Lucius, on the road to Thessaly. He hears a tall tale from some fellow travelers before arriving at is host’s home. A meeting with an old friend interrupts his dinner.
Book 2 – After meeting with his aunt, Lucius goes in search of witchcraft and has a little sexy time with the maid. Later in the evening, he has an unhappy encounter with some thieves.
Book 3 – Subjected to a mock trial for murder, Lucius is not amused. He watches his host’s wife transform into an Owl and decides he wants in on the fun, but of course, he just makes an ass of himself (A-ha! So that’s where that phrase comes from…) Robbers arrive and Lucius becomes their beast of burden.
Book 4 – At the robber’s hideout, a kidnapped girl hears the story of Cupid and Psyche*.
Things sure were fun in the Roman Empire! What are your thoughts about the life and times of our man Lucius? Kind of refreshing to read something that isn’t all drearily Christian-fear-of-god-ish, no?
[*oops! The story of Cupid and Psyche continues in Book 5. Bad scheduling on my part. Feel free to include Book 5 in this conversation.]