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Chapter 17
Themes
and Colors
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
As soon as Odysseus departs, Circe is overcome by sickness. Her nymphs recoil in shock—a goddess’s pregnancy is always lovely. Circe orders her nymphs to leave her island, saying that “This is for [her].” They indeed flee—perhaps, Circe thinks, because their fathers were worried their daughters might follow suit and also become pregnant by a mortal.
Circe is insistent on her independence and wants to raise the child herself, without risking anyone else ruining things. People have disappointed her many times in the past—and many of her attempts to persuade people to help her have failed—so, her decision to isolate herself from others could be her way of making sure that she has control over her situation. She can trust herself to achieve her goals, and she isn’t willing to trust anyone else.
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Circe’s sickness is unrelenting. Knowing that she will be unable to defend herself from passing pirates, she casts an illusory spell over her island to make it look inhospitable. But even as she writhes in pain, she is comforted by the purpose growing within her. She can sense that her child is a boy and, as he grows, she becomes increasingly aware of his fragile mortality. But her excitement surpasses her fear, and she imagines the richness that her son will bring to her life. Even as she remembers Odysseus’s wishes for more children, she declares that the child is for her alone.
Circe has been longing for purpose and companionship, which she believes she will get by having a child of her own. She chose to have a child for herself alone, which shows how she is taking initiative to get the life that she wants as.
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Circe’s labor is pure agony. As the hours drag on, she begins to fear that her son will die before he is born. She tries to summon Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, but the goddess does not come. Remembering with a chill that Eileithyia could be held back by another god, Circe realizes that a divinity may be preventing the birth. Emboldened by outrage, Circe performs a cesarean delivery on herself. The operation is successful, and she pulls out her screaming son. Relieved and ecstatic at his cries, she holds him close, telling him that they “do not need anyone.” She names him Telegonus.
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Motherhood is like a battle for Circe. Telegonus incessantly screams for her, needing food, a new diaper, or sleep. Once, while trying to rock a screaming Telegonus to sleep, Circe bitterly exclaims that at least his cries mean he isn’t dead. She immediately reprimands herself, and her thoughts are swamped with the many ways that mortals died. Seeing a cut on his cheek, she is paralyzed by the fear that someone may kill him. At this moment, she realizes that Telegonus is her own vulnerability. After a lifetime of persisting through various heartbreaks, she knows that Telegonus, whom she loves desperately and would do anything to protect, is at last “the thing the gods could use” to break her.
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Telegonus grows and his screaming ceases. But as he learns to sit, grab, and crawl, Circe becomes aware of all the many things—from the fire to her knives—that could hurt him. Indeed, there are so many near-accidents that Circe at last grasps that the god that had prevented Eileithyia from coming may be trying to strike again. Needing to know if her son’s life is in danger, Circe visits a seeing pool on her island. When a vision confirms that a god is trying to kill Telegonus, she pleadingly asks who it is, but she gets no response. With mounting panic, she recalls that only the most powerful gods can avoid her vision.
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That night, after surrounding a sleeping Telegonus with her protective wolves and lions, Circe demands that the god responsible for the attacks on her son step forward. After Circe’s accusation that the god is too cowardly to show themselves, Athena steps out of the shadows. Athena is sharp, her voice heartless. She demands that Circe hand over her child, adding that there is no changing what Athena wishes to happen.
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Circe trembles, terrified, but refuses. Athena commands again that Circe give her Telegonus, promising that the child’s death will be quick. Knowing that “there [is] no mercy among gods,” Circe is suddenly struck by how Athena, one of the most powerful gods, is asking Circe for the infant. Armed with this realization, Circe then tells Athena that she suspects that, given that Telegonus is still living, Athena is somehow prevented from directly murdering the boy. The flash in Athena’s eyes confirms Circe’s suspicion.
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Athena raises her spear and tells Circe that, although she may not be able to kill Telemachus, she can do as she wishes to Circe. Circe is chilled by the implication but responds that such a move would anger Helios and the other Titans, who may attack Olympus in retaliation. Athena tells Circe that she knows her threats are empty, but she nonetheless hesitates.
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Circe asks why Athena so desperately wants Telegonus dead, but the Olympian refuses to give her an answer. Her voice softening, Athena tells Circe that it is better for the boy to die before he grows older and Circe becomes more attached. She offers a trade: if Circe hands over Telegonus, Athena will send another man to Circe so that she may bear another son, one that Athena would bless throughout his life. Circe looks into Athena’s smiling face. Despite her softened voice, Circe knows that Athena is not speaking from love; this is all a ploy, and it hinges on the belief that children can be substituted.
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Literary Devices
At last, Circe speaks, criticizing Athena for thinking that Circe is “a mare to be bred at [her] whim.” She again refuses to hand over her child. Instantly, Athena’s gentle manner evaporates. She snarls that she will kill Telegonus one day, and that Circe cannot always protect her son. Athena disappears as Circe calls out that Athena does not know her power.
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