She had a strict religious upbringing, and when she was twenty-one she married Henry Tighe (1768–1836), her first cousin and a member of the Parliament of Ireland for Inistioge, County Kilkenny.

[4] Tighe lived for another five years and spent her last few months as an invalid at her brother-in-law's estate in Woodstock, County Kilkenny, Ireland.

He whisks her away to a far-away palace, where she is served by invisible servants, and he visits her only at night, so she cannot discover his true identity.

When she realises her husband is no monster, rather a god, she is so surprised a drop of oil falls from her lamp and burns Cupid, waking him.

He flees, and to regain her husband Psyche seeks the help of his mother Venus, who sends her out to complete various tasks in penance.

Arrows are held with “trembling” hands, blood stains perfect skin, and neither is aware of the fateful prick.

In a major departure from Apuleius’ storyline, Cupid accompanies Psyche on her series of trials, disguised as a white knight on his own journey to regain his beloved.

This unique element of Tighe's narrative serves to emphasise the equal responsibility of both genders in romantic relationships.

The tasks Venus sends them to do cease to be a form of penance and become a mutual journey, and both lovers grow as individuals, helping each other to defeat various vices and temptations, in a very moralising and Christian version of the Roman tale.