Circe: Chapter 13 Summary & Analysis

Medea's "golden look" signifies her power, which she inherited from her family. The "fervency" that Circe describes could be similar to the same intensity that Aeëtes has, which he directs to selfishly acquire the things that he wants.

Medea is very in love with Jason. She tends to his needs before hers, which is clear not only in her diminishing herself so that he appears stronger, but also in her feeding him before she eats. She is debasing herself, possibly in the effort to make him love her, which suggests that she is aware that the men of ancient Greece do not appreciate powerful women. Jason's self-centered monologue suggests that he sees himself as the more important and interesting person in the room—he doesn't let Medea introduce herself further, instead taking over the conversation with his quest. Medea plays into Jason's egotism, boosting his ego by saying that no mortal—even one as brave as he—could pass Aeëtes's test.

Jason is very arrogant and interested in maintaining his reputation of a hero. He doesn't want Circe to think that he didn’t complete the challenge fairly, which would suggest that he wasn't talented or strong or impressive enough to beat Aeëtes's test. Medea wants to protect his pride, which she does by telling Circe a story that makes Medea look weak and love-struck. By saying that she begged Jason to do as she suggested, it seems like he was helping her instead of the other way around. This way, it appears that Jason has more power in the situation, even though it is actually Medea who, with her magical powers, passed Aeëtes's test. She, not Jason, is the reason why his quest succeeded.

Jason is so arrogant that he never considers thanking Medea for helping him, even though it was her capabilities that got him the golden fleece. As a man in a misogynistic society, he doesn't expect women to be more powerful than he is. So, he eagerly accepts Medea's version of the tale, which understates her powers and keeps Jason looking like the hero. Medea's help and talent don't make Jason fall in love with her, as is clear when he looks uncomfortable at Medea saying that she will rule Iolcos with him. He wants the power and glory for himself and is uncomfortable at the prospect of being married to a woman who would outshine him.

Aeëtes’s chasing down his daughter over the fleece demonstrates how he prioritizes his pride and glory over his family. Given that he did stop to gather the pieces of his son's body, Aeëtes clearly prefers his son to his daughter, possibly because women are ranked as inferior to men in ancient Greece.

The fact that Medea was indeed lucid when killing her brother accentuates the cruelty of the act. She heartlessly killed her brother in order to guarantee her and Jason's escape, which demonstrates her selfishness and callousness toward others, including her own family. It also shows how people often end up using their power to harm others in order to keep themselves safe. Like many people who seek to maintain their power, Medea sees others as disposable tools that she can use to get what she wants. Jason is already perturbed by his wife and her powers, which is now even clearer when he considers the violence that she committed in order for them to escape. In a society that expects women to be submissive, Medea is an outsider, and the shock of a woman committing such a violent act appalls Jason, perhaps even more than it would if a man did it.

Medea’s lack of remorse suggests that she has adopted some of her father’s callousness; it also demonstrates how the cycle of power and abuse even traps people who hate it. Medea knows that her father is a violent man and disapproves of this, and yet she unflinchingly kills her little brother so that she can survive. Her fear of losing her life leads her to committing violent acts, just like her father.

Aeëtes—like his father, Helios—has little sentimental attachment to his children, particularly his daughters. Medea is sure that Aeëtes wouldn’t hesitate to abuse and exploit her, which is exactly what Helios did with Circe, whom he exiled in order to protect his own power. Aeëtes also resents that his daughter is a witch—he distrusts her powers and fears that she may arm another man with magic, which he possessively calls his own.

Aeëtes, like Helios, sees his daughter as an object to trade to another man for his own personal gain, which demonstrates again how women’s value is limited to sexuality and/or motherhood. Perses also treats women terribly—he imprisons his current wife, whom he presumably keeps for sexual exploitation. Medea’s detailing of Aeëtes and Perses’s treatment of women lays bare the violent abuse that women experience at the hands of men in a misogynistic society. Even women who have power often feel pressured to comply with the notion that women are weaker, which Medea suggests when she tells Circe that she cannot tell Jason of her past. Medea mirrors Circe’s behavior with Glaucos; both of them know that the men they love are frightened of their power, so they reduce themselves to seem more acceptable to men.

Circe tries to make Medea see that Jason will not love her, both because he will never understand her and because he resents her superior power. Additionally, Circe is sure that the people of Iolcos will all want to share in Jason’s glory, so they will try to get him to marry their daughters while pressuring him to leave Medea. This tactic shows how parents in ancient Greece often use their daughters as pawns, trying to marry them off for the family’s benefit. Medea, however, refuses to listen to Circe’s warning, hoping that her ability to bear children will keep Jason by her side. She is trying to be the woman that Jason wants—one who is powerless and whose value is limited to her sexuality.

Medea, likely wounded by Circe’s words, decides to retaliate by insulting Circe. While Circe describes her life on the island as liberating—she can exercise her power and doesn’t have to live in an oppressive, sexist society—Medea cruelly points out the repercussions of being a powerful woman: loneliness and isolation.

Neither woman wants to give in to the other one’s arguments, because doing so would admit weakness. Circe bluntly tells Medea that, because of her power, Jason will leave her. The implication is that Circe and Medea will have a similar fate, in that society will reject them both because they are powerful women.

Circe longs to feel close to her brother again—but seeing the men that he tortured, she realizes that this is impossible. Circe has grown into a different, kinder person than her brother, who fits in with their father cruel father, Helios, and the other gods. Aeëtes clearly has no sympathy for Circe, which he makes clear by threatening her. He wants to exert dominance over his sister by punishing her. He is surprised when she informs him that she will not let him—he wasn’t expecting her to push back on his demands, possibly because she never showed such strength when they were younger.