Apuleius’ The Golden Ass: A Roman Picaresque Novel
Apuleius (114 – after 170): The Golden Ass
Apuleius was an African, born in Madaura. He came from a wealthy family and furthered his studies in Rome and Athens. He traveled extensively throughout Greece, Rome, the East, and Egypt, becoming interested in the arts, religious and magical rites, and science.
He eventually became a priest in Carthage.
He enjoyed great fame as a magician due to his knowledge of magic. He opposed Christianity and was given many titles (contemporary), but enjoyed great significance in the Renaissance.
He was a great orator and wrote extensively to transmit knowledge of botany, astronomy, medicine, and more. His most notable work is *The Golden Ass*.
Structure of *The Golden Ass***
The work comprises 11 books, structured as follows:
- Books I-III: These books detail **Lucius’** journey **to Thessaly** and his transformation into a donkey after being smeared with a magic ointment. They offer a realistic and original portrayal of society. As a donkey, Lucius enters the service of various masters, much like a picaresque novel, encountering bandits, soldiers, traders, and more.
- Books IV-IX: These books narrate the hardships of the donkey and include the famous story of **Cupid and Psyche**. Psyche was a girl so beautiful that no one dared to marry her, fearing her beauty. An oracle instructed her father to chain her to a rock where a horrible monster would claim her as his wife. Once there, the wind carried her to a palace where her husband visited her every night, but she was forbidden to see him. One night, Psyche, taking advantage of her husband’s sleep, illuminated his face with a lamp and discovered he was Cupid, the god of love. However, a drop of hot wax fell on him, awakening him, and he repudiated her. Pursued and captured by a jealous Venus, Psyche was eventually rescued by Cupid, and they were married.
- Books X-XI: These books form the final part of the work. While initially appearing as a humorous tale against superstition and certain social types, the intervention of the goddess Isis adds a moralizing tone and an exaltation of the divine.
Themes and Interpretations
Both Encolpius (from Petronius’ *Satyricon*) and Lucius share characteristics of the rogue. Lucius, transformed into a donkey, experiences the cruelty of his various owners.
The parallels with *Lazarillo de Tormes* are undeniable, leading some to consider Apuleius’ work as the origin of the picaresque genre.
Through Lucius’ adventures, we learn about aspects of the society of his time: the cruelty of the world surrounding the character leaves a bitter taste, a pessimistic view of life.
Apuleius presents religion as the only way to overcome this pessimism.
Psyche (the human soul) seeks Cupid (the god of love and desire). Thus, the passion of love is seen as a longing of the divine soul, and life as a purification before reaching a happy ending.
Language and Style
The language and style are among the virtues of *The Golden Ass*. The work is characterized by elaborate artistic prose, a wealth of expressive romantic grace notes, visual language, musicality, rich vocabulary, and the perfection of clauses with a strident rhythm, along with an abundance of mythological digressions.
The author aims to provoke comic effects.