“All my life, I have been moving forward, and now I am here. I have a mortal’s voice, let me have the rest” (Miller 385). Circe–by Madeline Miller–is a retelling of the Greek myth of Circe through the eyes of modern women and through the female lens. Circe had only been mentioned previously in The Odyssey, where she was an antihero and a foil to Odysseus on his journey home. Miller integrates two main arguments into her retelling of Circe’s story: how power leads to destruction and greed, and how patriarchy and misogyny affect the characters. In Greek society, wealth and power held significant influence in places of government, which translated into the Greek oral stories. The lineage of power of the Greek Gods originated in the Titans. After
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The delicate balance of both Helios and Zeus, clinging to their power, willing to do anything to keep it. But Circe’s first experience with this was after her intervention with Glaucos, who was originally a mere fisherman. After falling in love with him, Circe is desperate to find a way so that their union is allowed by her father. Glaucos is changed into a sea god via Circe’s use of pharmaka and the flowers growing where Kronos’s blood was spilled. But his transformation instead brings out his true nature, one of arrogance, self-absorption and misogyny, making like every God and Titan Circe had grown up with. He had lost his humble nature that first drew Circe to love him. She tries to reason with him after he pledges to marry Scylla, a beautiful nymph. She pleads that she had, “loved you[Glaucos] since the first day. Scylla laughs at your fins and green beard, but I cherished you when there were fish guts on your hands.” (Miller 54). Glaucos dismissed her, saying he never wishes to remember those days, that he is better than that …show more content…
This is a theme throughout the story, with Circe’s sister also being offered a demigod son of Zeus as a wife. During Circe’s banishment to Aiaia, she is visited occasionally by Hermes, who she describes as someone who, “had been coming to my island, and in all that time he had never cared for more than his entertainment” (Miller 183). She has come to see the gods as all the same: vain, power-hungry, and only caring for themselves. The final graphic instance comes with Circe’s rape. Starved of attention and companionship, when a ship arrives at her island, she prepares food and wine for the weary sailors, but not without adding moly– the magical flower– to the wine as a backup plan. They ask if there is any man who lives with her, but she proclaims there is no one in this house but her. The men take this proclamation as a sign that they can assault her with no repercussions. As she is pinned down by the captain, she reflects on her situation, thinking, “I am only a nymph after all, for nothing is more common among us than this” (Miller 188). Before the rest of the crew could violate her again, she utters her spell and they all transform into
The delicate balance of both Helios and Zeus, clinging to their power, willing to do anything to keep it. But Circe’s first experience with this was after her intervention with Glaucos, who was originally a mere fisherman. After falling in love with him, Circe is desperate to find a way so that their union is allowed by her father. Glaucos is changed into a sea god via Circe’s use of pharmaka and the flowers growing where Kronos’s blood was spilled. But his transformation instead brings out his true nature, one of arrogance, self-absorption and misogyny, making like every God and Titan Circe had grown up with. He had lost his humble nature that first drew Circe to love him. She tries to reason with him after he pledges to marry Scylla, a beautiful nymph. She pleads that she had, “loved you[Glaucos] since the first day. Scylla laughs at your fins and green beard, but I cherished you when there were fish guts on your hands.” (Miller 54). Glaucos dismissed her, saying he never wishes to remember those days, that he is better than that …show more content…
This is a theme throughout the story, with Circe’s sister also being offered a demigod son of Zeus as a wife. During Circe’s banishment to Aiaia, she is visited occasionally by Hermes, who she describes as someone who, “had been coming to my island, and in all that time he had never cared for more than his entertainment” (Miller 183). She has come to see the gods as all the same: vain, power-hungry, and only caring for themselves. The final graphic instance comes with Circe’s rape. Starved of attention and companionship, when a ship arrives at her island, she prepares food and wine for the weary sailors, but not without adding moly– the magical flower– to the wine as a backup plan. They ask if there is any man who lives with her, but she proclaims there is no one in this house but her. The men take this proclamation as a sign that they can assault her with no repercussions. As she is pinned down by the captain, she reflects on her situation, thinking, “I am only a nymph after all, for nothing is more common among us than this” (Miller 188). Before the rest of the crew could violate her again, she utters her spell and they all transform into