psyche means soul and a butterfly represents soul. i pondered this for quite some time after class today and did a little research. i was amazed at all the information i found linking butterflies to the souls of the deceased in many different countries and cultures. first off, some artists depict pysche herself as a butterfly or a women with small butterfly wings. many cultures believe that the butterflies represent transformation and change and love and joy, which is all too perfect in psyche's situation. psyche must transform from a small and ignorant fool in love into a smart and savvy young women ready to meet her lover in an equal union. the aztecs believed butterflies to be a symbol of immortality, something psyche finally obtains after her journey and transformation. she arrives back where she started, in the arms of cupid, but just as t.s. eliot and dr. sexson say, she is different and can see things in different shades of light.
in africa butterflies are the symbol of the human cycle of life-we grow and change and undergo many metamorphoses of the mind, body, and soul. if psyche did not experience the great sense of loss and realized her mistake, she would not have journeyed to her mature status and thus her love to cupid would be less pure. they both understand how much they love each other, but without the changes in both, their love would like the cocoon of a caterpiller. with their new maturity, the true beauty of their love is finally seen by the world and of course, read by us in this class. their love is truly a materpiece in storytelling and is depicted as such in the many artistic rendition of their beautiful love.
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