Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Circe, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power, Fear, and Self-Preservation
Women, Power, and Misogyny
Change, Initiative, and the Self
Mortality, Fragility, and Fulfillment
Family and Individuality
Summary
Analysis
Circe can’t get Medea’s words out of her mind and is haunted by her own loneliness. One day, Circe’s napping is interrupted by a nymph who introduces herself as Alke. Alke announces that her father, a lesser river-god, has ordered her to serve Circe. Circe is dumbfounded until she remembers that lesser gods, always “clawing for any advantage,” would see an association with Helios’s daughter as distinguishing.
The gods are always scrambling for more power, which is exactly what Alke’s father is doing by sending his daughter to serve Circe. He is unconcerned with his daughter’s wishes, and he uses her as an opportunity to become distinguished among the other gods—he can claim closer association with Helios by having a daughter serve Helios’s daughter.
Themes
Alke reveals that she was sentenced to serve Circe for a year as punishment for falling in love with a mortal. Circe assesses Alke and is pleased to see that she is not afraid of Circe’s wolves and lions. Plus, to Circe, Alke’s disobedience of her father is a point in her favor. So, Circe welcomes her.
Circe decides to welcome Alke because she shows some spunk, particularly by disobeying her father. Having been so lonely for so long, it is likely that Circe is hopeful that she and Alke can become friends. She is therefore excited that Alke shows characteristics that Circe sees in herself.
Themes
But Alke is a tedious companion: all she does is complain. Annoyed, Circe dismisses her, telling her that she lifts Alke’s punishment. But Alke smugly responds that Circe has no power to overturn the gods’ commands. Circe realizes that Alke, who readily accepts the authority of the gods as “natural,” sees Circe as just another nymph. Although Circe’s father is more powerful than Alke’s, Circe is unmarried and therefore on a similar level as Alke. “So [Circe] [is] the one she would fight.”
Alke has no desire to form a friendship with Circe. She is self-centered and either ignores or is unaware of Circe’s goodwill. Frustrated, Circe tries to get rid of her, but Alke prioritizes the male gods’ orders over Circe’s. Circe realizes that, because she and Alke are both unmarried women, Alke sees Circe as having the same amount of power as she has. Instead of teaming up with Circe to resist the male gods’ oppression of nymphs, Alke lashes out at Circe. Because Alke believes that she is on the same power level as Circe, Alke sees disobeying Circe as a fight that she is more likely to win.
Themes
Circe momentarily considers urging Alke to recognize that she is not the one Alke should rebel against, but then she realizes that Alke will never understand. Knowing what will make a difference, Circe orders Alke to leave her undisturbed or risk being transformed into a worm. Frightened, Alke avoids Circe for the rest of her sentence.
Circe knows that Alke will be unwilling to believe Circe, possibly because she assumes that Circe is trying to manipulate her like so many of the other gods do, which points to how the gods’ jadedness prevents them from forming interpersonal connections. Circe decides to simply scare Alke away—she knows that fear is a very effective way to get people to obey her.
Themes
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More divinities begin sending their daughters to Aiaia, much to Circe’s dismay. She summons Hermes and demands that he tell Helios to order the nymphs from her island. Hermes returns with a message from Helios: delighted that lesser nymphs are serving his offspring, he will encourage the trend.
Helios isn’t interested in how Circe feels about having her home infiltrated by a bunch of nymphs. He is only concerned about how the situation looks, which is that he and his family are so impressive and mighty that other gods serve them.
Themes
Alarmed at this turn of events, Circe begs Hermes to argue with Helios on her behalf. But Hermes is disgruntled at her seriousness. Instead, he suggests that she have sex with them and that, although nymphs always try to run, “they are terrible at getting away.” Burning with rage, Circe orders him from her sight.
Hermes’s refusal to help Circe indicates that their relationships was never a meaningful one. He only cares about his own amusement and gets annoyed when Circe expects anything more from him. As a god, it’s likely that he receives plenty of prayer requests, so in this case, Circe isn’t providing him with anything novel to keep him interested. Circe gets fed up with him after he makes a cruel joke about having sex with these nymphs—she doesn’t think there is anything funny about objectifying and using other people in this way. Disgusted with his misogyny and lack of empathy, she dismisses him.
Themes
Aiaia continues to be occupied by nymphs, new ones replacing those that finish their sentences. To Circe, the nymphs’ presence is a reminder that her power is subordinate to the power of others, from her father to the least of the river-lords. When she tries to comfort herself that at least she doesn’t have to deal with exiled sons, she realizes her folly: boys are never punished.
Circe sees the nymphs’ presence as a reminder that the other gods still rule over her, even if she is far away. Although Aiaia is her home, she doesn’t even have the power to control who comes to stay on her island. Her realization that sons are never punished illustrates how men are allowed more liberties than women are in ancient Greece.
Themes
Circe sinks into despair; her work feels small and useless. One day, she wakes up to find that her lion, who has been her companion for over a hundred years, has died at last. Circe builds her lion a pyre and burns her on it. Afterward, she walks back into her house, feeling hollow and more alone than ever.
Circe’s lion has long represented the feminine power and independence that Circe felt when she discovered her witchcraft. Its death thus symbolizes the crumbling of the illusion that Circe had about her own power in exile. Although Circe initially felt like her magic gave her control over herself and the beings around her, her power was only an illusion. Circe is still trapped on an island and is therefore still at the mercy of the gods’ decisions, which is emphasized by the arrival of all the unwelcome nymphs. Significantly, the lion also dies after Circe has tried to kill Scylla but is unsuccessful, as well as after Circe’s limited success in reducing the Minotaur’s violence. Circe’s power is not as boundless as she once felt it was. As a woman and a lesser divinity, Circe is still under the gods’ control. Her good will doesn’t rid the world of its evil, and her exile dooms her to a life of loneliness. With the death of her lion, her final companion, Circe is aware of her life’s hollowness and feels powerless and unfulfilled.
Themes
Circe is singing in the house one morning when a voice asks if anyone is there. Surprised, Circe opens the door to see 20 mortal men. She drinks in their scars and wounds, which she finds delightful after “the smooth sameness of nymphs.” One of them greets her and asks whether she, a goddess, will help him and his hungry crew. She smiles, glad to have something to fix, and invites them in.
Circe is delighted to see the mortals, particularly because she believes that she can actually do something tangible to help someone. After her failure to get rid of Scylla and her inability to rid herself of the nymphs, she hopes to at least fix the mortals’ hunger and lessen their suffering. She is also happy to see people who aren’t other nymphs, whom she sees as being very uniform in their behavior. In this way, she, like the other gods, is hungry for novelty.
Themes
After the men settle on the benches in her hall, Circe brings out plate after plate of food. The men gobble the food down, thanking her when she passes them. Circe’s heart is warmed, and she thinks of how mortals value kindness and generosity because they know what it is to be vulnerable. Not wanting to share the moment with the nymphs, Circe shoos them away.
The men are grateful for Circe’s hospitality in a way that the nymphs never were. Because mortals experience hunger, they know the relief of easing it. Nymphs, on the other hand, will survive regardless of whether or not Circe feeds them. Because they don’t need anything, they don’t know the feeling of gratitude when their needs are fulfilled.
Themes
When Circe refills the captain’s cup with wine, he thanks her using the diminutive “sweet.” She pauses—recalling how he had called her a goddess earlier—and then realizes that he must have meant it only as a general term. Remembering Hermes’s words that her mortal voice will not inspire fear among men, she realizes that the men in her hall don’t know that she is a goddess. Delighted at the freedom this offers her, she wonders how they think of her.
The captain used the term “goddess” not because he realizes that Circe is a divinity, but because it is a generic term of respect that he hoped would make her more willing to help them. Now that she is serving them, he uses a much less respectful term: “sweet.” Such a term belittles her and suggests that he judges her to be inferior to him. Circe isn’t alarmed at the change; she’s actually excited, because now she can pretend to be a mortal. The novel has already shown that Circe prefers genuine connection to fearful obedience, so it is possible that she is excited to have a chance to get to know the mortals without them automatically fearing her because of her divinity.
Themes
The feasting tapers off, and Circe notices the men eyeing her tapestries and golden plates. She is charmed by their wonder after living with nymphs who are accustomed to such riches. The captain speaks again, asking when her husband will be home so that he can thank him. She laughs and tells him that she has no husband. The captain then asks after her father, whom she says lives far away. She kindly informs them that the house is hers, so their thanks should be directed toward her.
In ancient Greece, women so rarely had power of their own that there was almost always a “man-of-the-house,” a patriarch who was the leader of the home. The men ask Circe whether lives with a husband or father because they do not expect that she would be independent and powerful enough to have a house of her own. Moreover, they don’t thank Circe for the meal, even though she served them throughout their supper. This implies that they believe she, as a woman, is obligated to help and serve them.
Themes
The atmosphere immediately changes. Suddenly aware of the many male bodies, Circe goes back to her kitchen with the empty wine bowl. For caution’s sake, she mixes one of her potions with the wine that she then brings to the men. They gulp it down.
Now that the men know that there is no male figure to fear, they feel that they are the ones in power. They went from being in need and therefore at someone’s mercy to being more powerful than their host (or so they think). The shift in mood—from lighthearted to threatening—encourages Circe to use her powers, which the men certainly don’t expect.
Themes
Aware of her voice in the quiet room, Circe asks for their names in return for the dinner she provided. The leader demands hers first. Unnerved by his brusqueness, she considers casting the potion’s spell to send them to sleep. But she hesitates; even though many things have changed since her childhood, she still can’t bring herself to speak out of turn.
Now that the men feel like they have power, they are eager to express it, ordering Circe to tell them her name before they respond to her question. Although she is getting more and more concerned with the captain’s attitude, she can’t bring herself to use her magic on them, possibly because her childhood taught her a fearful obedience of male authority.
Themes
Circe tells them her name, but no one responds. The men all get to their feet, and the captain steps forward. Even as he approaches, Circe finds herself thinking that she mustn’t over-react, that something benign will happen, that Helios will intervene. She opens her mouth to ask a question, but at that moment, he throws her against a wall, pins her by her neck, and rips off her clothes. She can’t speak with his arm on her throat, and as he rapes her, her one thought is that she is “only a nymph after all, for nothing is more common among [nymphs] than this.”
The men don’t really care about Circe’s name—they just wanted her to obey a command. Circe doesn’t take action for several reasons: on one hand, she fears that defending herself against the mortals would be over-reacting. Still concerned of what others think of her, Circe doesn’t want to attract ridicule from any observing gods by showing fear when dealing with mortals. Circe’s other main reason for inaction is that she is certain that Helios will protect her from any major harm. But Helios doesn’t appear, and the captain rapes her, a brutal act that serves as an expression of his power. He subjects her to pain and trauma to demonstrate his dominance over her and over women. As the man rapes her, Circe realizes that, even with her magic, the men of ancient Greece will always see her as inferior and as an object to abuse.
Themes
Eventually the man steps back, and Circe can hear the other men clamoring for their turn. Before any of them approach, Circe feels her throat pop back into place. She no longer considers the sleep spell; the potion she mixed has another capability. She speaks the word of power, and the men begin to transform, their flesh and bones ripping and restitching until they are screaming pigs. That night, Circe kills them all.
To protect herself from any further attacks, Circe turns all the men into pigs. She then kills all the pigs, likely out of vengeance and as a way for her to feel like she’s regained some form of control. In other words, she retaliates against their violent use of power with her own violent use of power.
Themes
