Psyche and Cupid

the psyche syndrome

Abstract

Apuleius’ fairy tale of Psyche and Cupid is analyzed. The beauty of Psyche is so striking that people turn to her and away from Venus; however, she stays single. This is explained by her phobia of her sex object, which prompts her to the idealization of “dangerous” man and turns him into a subject and her into a goddess. She defends herself from her phobic state through disavowal, and that makes her naive. It is proposed that this group of symptoms, which also includes a block that prevents reaching maturity, be called Psyche Syndrome. “Naivety” is defined by a group of symptoms: (1) well-being or happiness for living in a delightful and benevolent world built upon the disavowal of phobias, dangers, suffering, problems and limitations; (2) defenselessness for being harmless and for acting recklessly, without thinking, overlooking the aggressive events and the dangers of society and of the world; (3) dependence upon other people; (4) overbearing pride; (5) psychological perceptive torpitude of the self and of the other; (6) credulity; (7) lack of sagaciousness; and (8) condescension. Investigating feelings separately is assumed to be an artifice, as they could only be understood within the whole that achieves harmony in each moment of each situation of each man. The most significant and most frequently used concepts are defined: psyche, dread, fear, fright, phobia, phobic crisis, phobic state, panic, terror, awe, horror, angst, narcissistic defense, whim, desire and social fact.