TNTL 114

Maarten Klein

Op weg naar Het. Over het sprookje Psyche van Louis Couperus

Abstract -- Psyche, by the Dutch novelist Louis Couperus, is a fairy-tale about the human soul, which, departing from the Father-house, has to undergo its own fate. In some previous interpretations there has been an emphasis on possible autobiographic backgrounds, but the text does not give any reason to believe these allegations. What is really important are the Platonic and Plotinian philosophical ideas used in this fin the siŠcle fairy tale. After having lived a sinful life in this material world, the soul longs to return to Eros, the god of soul-love, and to its Father.