08.25.07
Norse Myths and Classical Myths: Thirtieth Post (Gods)
Finally we get a love story where Hawthorne allows the lovers to end up together, and he skips all the good parts in the middle! He told the beginning of the Psyche and Cupid story but skipped all of Psyche’s trials to win Cupid back, which is really the best part of the story. I also noticed in this story that he’s very careful not to refer to the gods as such. They are “shining ones” or have cute individual titles (”the Queen of Love”, etc.). Cupid is even referred to as a fairy prince! Why? Was it his Christian aversion to calling anything else a god or is he worried about confusing children or leading them astray accidentally or is it something else completely? Were they typically referred to as such when he was writing? It’s very curious, indeed!