Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Golden Ass, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Power of Stories
Faithfulness and Loyalty
Identity, Transformation, and Curiosity
Consequences of Greed
Summary
Analysis
One of the robbers comes back to the cave and tells the rest of them that they’re safe after sacking Milo’s house because the crowd there believes Lucius is to blame for the robbery. Lucius despairs at how Fortune has deserted him lately.
The fact that Lucius is even blamed for the robbery of Milo shows just how much Fortune has turned against him lately, even to the point where it is comic.
Themes
The bandits talk about how some of their bravest men have died recently and so they need new recruits. One of them found a strong-looking young man who seems promising. The potential new recruit greets the bandits and begins to tell a story.
The earlier story about the death of the thieves like Lamachus helped to set up this scenario that introduces a mysterious and important new character into the story.
Themes
The man introduces himself as a brigand from Thrace named Haemus. He is the heir to another great robber and used to be wealthy but lost it all when Caesar took an interest in his bandit group and wiped them out. Having finished his story, he produces two thousand gold coins and makes them as an offering to the other bandits, saying he can make them much more.
Haemus is able to convince the thieves of his trustworthiness. It is unclear if this is a testament to his storytelling ability or if the thieves are just so blinded by his gift of gold at the end. Perhaps the earlier deaths of Lamachus and the others foreshadow how the promise of gold will lead the thieves to make bad decisions.
Themes
The bandits unanimously vote Haemus their leader. Eventually, he learns about the hostage and how she tried to escape on Lucius. Haemus says he hopes he doesn’t offend anyone but it’s his opinion that the bandits are making a mistake by killing the girl and losing a potential source of profit. They could instead make a profit and still get revenge if they sell the hostage to a brothel.
While there is no outward sign that Haemus is lying, his suggestion to avoid killing the hostage so soon is a hint that perhaps he is up to something or even on the hostage’s side. He understands that the thieves are motivated primarily by greed, which is why he tries to convince them with the promise of a big payday.
Themes
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The robbers agree with the plan to sell the hostage to a brothel. The girl herself seems pleased with the plan, which Lucius finds shameful. Suddenly, however, Lucius overhears Haemus speaking quietly to the girl and revealing that he is in fact Tlepolemus, the girl’s fiancé (Lucius also overhears that her name is Charite).
This section makes clear what the previous sections hinted at: Haemus is just a disguise for a man who is actually trying to help the hostage, Charite. While many characters use deception for evil schemes, this section shows an instance of deception being used for good.
Themes
Tlepolemus, still pretending to be Haemus, gets the robbers drunk and possibly adds a sedative to their wine. Tlepolemus ties them all up and then takes Charite and Lucius back to their hometown, where Charite is greeted by her parents. Tlepolemus then takes Lucius back to the bandit camp with other pack animals and a crowd of helpers. Together, they throw some of the tied-up bandits off a cliff and slice the others up with swords before taking the goods back.
The bandits are once again punished for their greediness, with all of them ending up dead. Their mistake is perhaps particularly egregious because they’ve made it before and even witnessed several of their comrades die on account of greed. The fact that they haven’t changed their ways suggests just how strong an urge greed can be.
Themes
Charite and Tlepolemus get married. Charite continues to express gratitude towards Lucius and feeds him well. They decide to reward Lucius by letting him frolic in the fields where he can impregnate some of the mares to create new mules. After some delay, Lucius is allowed to roam free.
The marriage of Tlepolemus and Charite perhaps parallels the marriage of Cupid and Psyche, since both events happen after a period of separation and trial.
Themes
The male horses are jealous of Lucius and try to keep him away from the mares. Even worse, Lucius is forced to haul wood down a mountain, and the work is overseen by a cruel ass-boy who beats Lucius. The ass-boy frames Lucius for starting a fire and for causing other trouble. The ass-boy suggests getting rid of Lucius, but then someone suggests that it might be effective simply to castrate him. Lucius would rather kill himself but doesn’t have the opportunity.
Despite Lucius’s seeming good luck, he soon finds that his situation is not as pleasant as promised. Once again, Lucius is forced to endure what it feels like to be at the very bottom of society, so low that he even has to accept the orders of the cruel ass-boy.
Themes
While the ass-boy has Lucius tied up to await his punishment, however, a she-bear comes out of a cave and kills the ass-boy. Lucius runs away, thinking he’s finally had some help from Fortune, but he is caught and finds that he is blamed for killing the ass-boy.
Sometimes bad luck works in Lucius’s favor. In this particular case, perhaps the ass-boy was a victim of his own arrogance. The victory is short-lived, however, when Lucius finds himself blamed for the ass-boy’s death.
Themes
Pieces of the ass-boy’s corpse are found everywhere. The boy’s parents blame Lucius, and they tie him up. Then, the boy’s mother sticks a burning log up Lucius’s butt, forcing Lucius to defend himself with explosive diarrhea that blinds them.
“Toilet” humor is relatively common in the texts that survive from ancient Rome, including even some of the most highly regarded works. It plays a major role in many of the picaresque (satirical adventure) novels that were inspired by The Golden Ass.
Themes
