From impulsiveness to self-restraint: Lucius' stance in Apuleius' Metamorphoses
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Stavros Frangoulidis
Abstract
The paper argues for the development of the character of Lucius in Apuleius' Metamorphoses from initial rashness to a more mature and restrained stance. This change is evident from the differing attitudes he adopts towards two structurally parallel events – the wine-skin episode in Hypata and the encounter with the upper-class matron at Corinth – both of which precede Lucius' participation in public spectacles. In the latter case, Lucius' hesitation to copulate with the rich matron marks the adoption of a new attitude, whereby he is seen to consider the possible consequences of his actions rather than rush headlong into the fray. Such a behavioral transformation anticipates Lucius' physical re-transformation into human form in book eleven and stands as evidence that at least he has learnt something from his wanderings. The article concludes with the observation that had Lucius not somehow changed as a character and sought the intervention of Isis, he would have remained an ass forever.
© Walter de Gruyter 2011
Articles in the same Issue
- The Iliad's big swoon: a case of innovation within the epic tradition?
- Apollo and the Ion of Euripides: nothing to do with Nietzsche?
- The Dream of the Charioteer in the Rhesus ascribed to Euripides (728–803)
- Trojan Glory: kleos and the survival of Troy in Lycophron's Alexandra
- A Passage to Egypt: Aesop, the Priests of Heliopolis and the Riddle of the Year (Vita Aesopi 119–120)
- From impulsiveness to self-restraint: Lucius' stance in Apuleius' Metamorphoses
- Back to the backstage: the papyrus P.Berol. 13927
- Revivals of an Ancient Myth in Modern Art: Oedipus and the Episode of the Sphinx. From Jean Auguste-Domenique Ingres to Michael Merck
- List of Contributors
Articles in the same Issue
- The Iliad's big swoon: a case of innovation within the epic tradition?
- Apollo and the Ion of Euripides: nothing to do with Nietzsche?
- The Dream of the Charioteer in the Rhesus ascribed to Euripides (728–803)
- Trojan Glory: kleos and the survival of Troy in Lycophron's Alexandra
- A Passage to Egypt: Aesop, the Priests of Heliopolis and the Riddle of the Year (Vita Aesopi 119–120)
- From impulsiveness to self-restraint: Lucius' stance in Apuleius' Metamorphoses
- Back to the backstage: the papyrus P.Berol. 13927
- Revivals of an Ancient Myth in Modern Art: Oedipus and the Episode of the Sphinx. From Jean Auguste-Domenique Ingres to Michael Merck
- List of Contributors
