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
The next day, Helios wordlessly flies Circe to her island. As soon as she steps out of his chariot, he departs. Circe refuses to let herself cry, knowing that none of her family mourns her. She surveys her island, spotting a house and a thick forest. The forest fills her with wonder—it is so full of life after the barren halls of the gods—but its unfamiliarity scares her. She finds herself waiting for someone to tell her it’s okay. As the sun sets, Circe decides to explore tomorrow.
Circe’s hesitance to explore her island illustrates her passivity. Having spent most of her life letting other people dictate her life, she relies on others to help her, which indicates that she doubts her own abilities (possibly because she is a woman and has internalized her society’s sexism). Even though she has seen that relying on other people to aid her in her goals—such as hoping that Aeëtes or Glaucos will be her ticket out of Helios’s halls—is ineffective, she struggles to break the habit. Hence, she finds herself waiting for someone to encourage her to explore her island.
Themes
Circe enters the house. It’s lovely—spacious, well-furnished, and well-stocked. In the future, she will learn that the house cleans itself and the pantry automatically refills. All things considered, it doesn’t seem much like punishment. Thinking of Prometheus, Circe feels disappointed at the mildness of her punishment. But she recognizes that she and Scylla were just nymphs—their lives and struggles are meaningless. She is also sure that the luxuriousness of the island is Helios’s way of showing off Titan power to the Olympians.
Helios never passes an opportunity to show off his power, as is seen in Circe’s beautiful new house. At this point, Circe knows that her father has no real affection for her, so she is sure that her home’s luxury must serve him somehow. Circe’s disappointment at her punishment is likely rooted in the fact that its mildness suggests that she is not worth anything more dire. Her defiance was not meaningful enough for them to punish her more severely.
Themes
After the sun sets, Circe lights a fire using flint and tinder and experiences a rush of pride after achieving this manual task. She helps herself to food from the pantry. As the shadows deepen, she becomes afraid and wonders if her punishment involves wild animals tearing through the walls. She makes her way to her bedroom where she lies awake, too terrified to sleep.
Circe’s life prior to arriving on her island was idle enough that just making a fire feels like an accomplishment. This suggests that the majority of gods rarely feel the satisfaction that comes with completing a task—after all, they usually just rely on their powers to get things done.
Themes
When morning dawns, Circe circles her house, looking for marks that would indicate a sinister presence, but nothing is there. As her solitude sinks in, she realizes that no one will guide her or tell her what’s safe. Suddenly giddy, she heads off to explore and becomes swiftly acquainted with her island. She learns the different plants that grow there and explores every peak and cave. After her bleak childhood, she feels herself thrive at last. The shadows and loneliness no longer frighten her; singing merrily, she embraces the absence of her malicious family.
It is upon realizing how truly isolated she is that Circe decides to take things into her hands and explore the island. Instead of fearing her loneliness, she embraces her independence, and in doing so, she thrives. As a woman, it is likely that Circe has not had such freedom before—for the first time, she feels free to do as she chooses. Her singing emphasizes how Circe now has the freedom to act how she wishes, as her family used to complain about her “ugly” voice. In ancient Greece, women had to be careful in hiding their flaws, as Circe’s siblings have made clear—“ugly” women have no value in ancient Greece. Now that Circe is on her own, however, she has some distance from their expectations. Without restrictions, Circe has more room to grow.
Themes
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Initially too timid to try witchcraft again, Circe finally tries her hand at it. She has no idea what to do, so she starts experimenting. Witchcraft, she learns, is a lot of work. She humorously reflects that this form of magic is not for gods, who despise labor of all kinds, especially the tedious work that witchcraft requires. But after such a vapid, purposeless youth, Circe embraces the work that comes with her new power.
The labor that goes into witchcraft makes it an unlikely hobby for immortals, who are accustomed to simply exercising their power to complete any tedious tasks. But Circe finds that the labor makes the outcome all the more satisfying, which suggests that gods are typically deprived of the sense of achievement that comes with a well-done task. Additionally, Circe has never had power before, so she is willing to put in the work in order to obtain it. In this way, witchcraft and its work can represent the personal enrichment that comes with labor.
Themes
At first, everything Circe tries is a failure. She has no knowledge of plants, and so she has to teach herself the basics, trial by unsuccessful trial. After her first success—turning an acorn into a strawberry—she increases her repertoire and builds on her power with each spell. She deepens her knowledge of plants and dapples with illusions. Her strongest skill is transformation, yet she discovers that her capabilities have limitations: no matter how strong the potion or spell, transformed creatures maintain their original minds. This makes her wonder if monster-Scylla is aware of her old self.
It is only through mistakes that Circe achieves success, which suggests that a person’s failures are a necessary part of their growth. As Circe works at her magic, she discovers that her greatest talent is transformation, which is a nod to her personal transformation that is underway. Circe has already changed since her childhood in Helios’s halls, where she was passive. On Aiaia, she has started to take control of her life: she develops a skill, hones her powers, and even enjoys her isolation. Yet she realizes that her powers have limitations—she can’t change the minds of the beings that she transforms. This restriction symbolizes her broader inability to change the world around her. Attempts to create change by influencing others is largely ineffective, as is evident by her failed attempts to find happiness by way of Aeëtes (whom she begged to bring her to his kingdom) and Glaucos (whom she hoped would marry her).
Themes
One day, Circe comes across a wild boar, a massive and ferocious creature. Circe locks eyes with it and verbally dares it to try attacking her. After a moment, it walks away, and Circe feels at last like a true witch.
Circe feels like a witch when she feels powerful, which is to say that she establishes dominance over another being. Although there is no evidence that the boar listened to her (it could have simply not wanted to attack her), Circe nevertheless feels like she was able to influence its behavior—she feels like it respected and obeyed her command.
Themes
That night, Circe thinks of the goddesses that have adoring pets. Wanting to “put them to shame,” Circe summons a female lion that, with the help of a potion, becomes a loyal companion. With her magic and her lion, Circe realizes that she looks different: bolder and fierce. She wishes that her relatives could see her now, walking among wolves and casting spells. She now knows how Aeëtes could be so calm before Helios—her magic makes her feel similarly strong.
Now that Circe has some power, she is hungry to show it off, which reflects a trait that her family has: eagerness to display power for the sake of status. One of the ways she shows off her power is by magically taming the lion, a majestic animal that symbolizes her own might and newfound strength. That this lion is both female and a symbol of strength also suggests that women aren’t inherently powerless—a woman can be just a bold and formidable as a man if she’s willing to summon her courage and rely on herself.
Themes
