Foreign Languages & Literatures ETDs

Publication Date

Spring 5-12-2018

Abstract

In this thesis, I offer my reading of Apuleius’ novel, the Metamorphoses, or the Golden Ass. Modern scholars are divided on whether we should read the novel as a genuine expression of religio-philosophical sentiment or a satire of religious devotion. My goal is to show that these are not mutually exclusive readings, but two positions from which to consider the idea of spiritual transcendence.

The first chapter explores the way that Apuleius uses light imagery to characterize the religious experience of the novel’s protagonist, Lucius, by analyzing similar phenomena in contemporary and modern descriptions of altered states of consciousness. The second chapter demonstrates that Lucius accesses these altered states by means of intense concentration in meditation. I also argue that Apuleius makes concentration a theme of the whole novel, and that Lucius gradually learns to transform his natural tendency to fixate into the ability to meditate. The final chapter finds parallels in Plato’s Phaedrus for the themes explored in the first two chapters. I further argue that the Metamorphoses is a transformative text designed to initiate those who are willing into the practice of meditation. I conclude that Lucius’ religious experience cannot be objectively judged, but rather engaged with subjectively. Therefore, there cannot be a “correct” way of reading the text, but a wide variety of ways of reading based on the disposition of the reader.

Keywords

Apuleius, Metamorphoses, Plato, Phaedrus, Religion, Conversion, Meditation

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

Degree Name

Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures

First Committee Member (Chair)

Lorenzo F. Garcia, Jr.

Second Committee Member

Monica Cyrino

Third Committee Member

Osman Umurhan

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