LoveQuest is a romantic fantasy

by Pamela Jean Horter-Moore

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…a god’s love for a mortal woman….

Aphrodite, the goddess of Beauty, has blessed the mortal girl Psyche with a lovely face that captivates the admiration of all who seeher. Psyche, however, offends the goddess by thinking more of winning her malicious sisters’ approval than of the gifts the goddess has given her.

Although the oracle of Apollo promised Psyche a marvelous marriage to someone “not human,” Aphrodite resolves to destroy her happiness by asking her son Eros, the god of Love, to punish Psyche with a life of lovelessness.

Aphrodite’s plans go wrong when Eros accidentally wounds himself with his own arrow while attempting to carry out his mother’s will, falling in love with the woman his mother hates.

Knowing that his mother doesn’t approve and torn between the two women he loves most, Eros pursues Psyche by deceiving his mother and concealing his identify from Psyche.

Perplexed by Eros’ invisibility and his passion for her, Psyche is tempted by her jealous sisters to sabotage her romance.

Psyche must choose between betrayal and fidelity and suffer the consequences of her decision, just as Eros must connive to win her love and the approval of his mother. Both of them must be put to the test in order to find their heart’s desire.

A Word from the Author

I’ve never really considered myself a romantic, but I’ve poured all my most romantic notions into LoveQuest.

Greek mythology has always intrigued me, and few stories can equal the romance of Eros and Psyche. Here is Eros, the god of Love, the perfect youth and the perfect lover, the divine representation of erotic passion, pursuing the flawed and vacillating mortal Psyche, who cannot live up to his love for her. A hero larger than life, ardent, sensitive, and attentive, Eros represents the summit of what a woman might desire in a mate.

However, Eros is not free. The dutiful son of Aphrodite, the goddess of Beauty, he is bound by the constraints of his mother’s authority over him. Eros is at the crossroads of manhood, struggling with his obedience to his mother and his desire to seek life on his own terms.

Psyche likewise has her challenges. She has offended Aphrodite by depreciating her gift of beauty and instead seeking mediocrity and the acceptance of her malicious sisters. As a result, she has now become the object of Aphrodite’s wrath. Aphrodite insists that Eros punish Psyche for her sin.
Carrying out his mother’s punishment, Eros accidentally wounds himself with his own arrow and falls in love with Psyche, knowing that his mother hates her and will never consent to the romance.

Not wanting to choose between the two women he loves, Eros decides to deceive both of them with an awkward ruse that allows him to possess Psyche while at the same time duping his mother. Such a ruse can’t last forever; Aphrodite is not easily fooled, and Psyche is so confused by her lover’s secret identity that she yearns for her old life and the familiarity of her sisters’ torment. Neither Eros nor Psyche will find their heart’s desire until they overcome the falsehoods that are obstructing their happiness.

More than a love story, the tale of Eros and Psyche is an allegory of the soul in search of its heart’s desire, and a fable of betrayal and the redeeming power of love.

(Pamela Jean Horter-Moore, October 2017)