Sam Li, Period 7, 2/29/24

Thomas Li  

Period 7

12/08/23                              

  Modern Mythology 2024

Literature Circle
Circe

    For my third and final blog, I have decided to read one half of “Circe” by Madeline Miller. After looking through the blurbs of all the choices for readings, I chose Circe due to having a previous interest in the title character when I read the Odyssey. She had a unique antagonistic role in the story, so seeing more perspectives on her sounded interesting. This is an analysis and my attempt at understanding the book. This blog may not cover the entire half, as it is very dense and may result in a low-quality analysis over time.

    Starting with chapters one and two, I noticed an underlying theme/idea that the text had indicated. Many reminders in the text that women were not treated fairly or equally. Chapter One gave us an example. Circe’s father, Helios, was said to have many relationships/children with other women. Circe’s mother, Perse, had tried to gain power over him by forcing him into marriage and her control through the promise of sex.

    “It is marriage,” she said to him, “or nothing. And if it is marriage,
be sure: you may have what girls you like in the field, but you will bring
none home, for only I will hold sway in your halls.” (Miller, 2018, p. 8)

    By then they had learned what the four of us were. You may have other
children, they told her, only not with him. But other husbands did not give
amber beads. It was the only time I ever saw her weep. (Miller, 2018, p. 8)

    This quote illustrates her attempt to get Helios through marriage. But soon after,  Perse is reminded of her submission by the gods, who had barred her from producing any more children with Helios. Despite all her efforts, Perse had no say in the end.

    This further continues with chapter two, which focuses on Circe herself. Her family had gone to watch the regular torture of Prometheus. Crice had noticed how compliant, yet tense the whole moment was. No one had done anything but watched as Prometheus was tortured. This painted an image of the gods being in power, and everyone else had done nothing out of fear.

    “Not every god need be the same,” he said (Miller, 2018, p. 22)

    Eventually, Circe defiantly fed Prometheus nectar and conversed with him, something that no one else dared to do. Circe had gained insight into herself, and how she did not have to be the same as the rest of her family. She’s on her path to independence.

    Chapters one and two can be looked at through a literary lens of Feminist criticism. The idea that women are not in power in a family household is a common idea across the world for many generations and is shown once more in chapter one. Perse had no power and even when she had leverage, lost it regardless. Like the roles of women in Ancient Greek society, Perse was treated as a joke and an object. In chapter two, Circe is the topic of focus, as it documents her realization and path toward independence. Being independent is a major topic of feminism. As previously mentioned earlier, women are considered objects and not the leaders in the family. They are usually seen as dependent on the husband. This is one of many social roles. In chapter two, we can see a common role of the family being bystanders to Prometheus and his suffering but Circe deviates from this pattern. This chapter can be seen as Circe fighting against societary roles. Circe helps Prometheus understand how she could be different from the people around her. This can be seen as a growth into independence, a major aspect of feminism.

    A pattern of mini-stories that are slightly interwoven seems to be the pattern here. Chapters three to five tell the story of Glaucos and the eventual creation of Scylla. I believe that this part of the story was more insight into the naivety and foolishness of Circe. Her actions of practically simping for Glaucos and lack of self-awareness built on that. She initially had to say that she wasn’t strong to make Glaucos not afraid, showing her weakness. She then toyed with magic that even her family and the gods were scared of, all to empower the man she loved. Although not being in a true relationship with him, she is blinded by the idea of being in one with him. Even after Glaucos had changed as a person, abusing his newfound powers to kill his father and showing evilness, Circe still loved him relentlessly. She had done rash actions just for his love and the possibility of being in a relationship with him, just for him to go to another girl. I believe this demonstrates weakness on Circe's end as a person.

    Overall, this book felt like almost a diary of sorts. It did not feel traditional in the way it told its story and I am not sure whether that is a positive or negative trait. There are many underlying themes in Circe as a person and her personality. I hope to possibly see more of this if I continue reading onwards, with more on her growth and understanding of her life. This way of analysis and understanding of Circe reminded me of how we analyze characters and their decisions in our learning and class. Seeing how im applying it in my own reading time excites me as it is giving such a drastic way of analyzing the story, something I don’t think I would have done if I had read this prior to mythology class.



Citations:

Miller, Madeline. Circe. Hachette Book Group, 2018.