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Chapter 8
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
One morning, Hermes pays Circe a visit to tell her that a ship is coming to her island, but he withholds more details. When it arrives that afternoon, she can see that it is magnificent and, excitingly, contains mortals. A man steps onto the shore and makes his way to her.
Hermes’s withholding information from Circe is an example of how their relationship isn’t genuinely caring or affectionate. He can help her by giving her more details on what to expect but refuses to for his own amusement. Circe is again excited to see mortals; since discovering that she has a mortal’s voice, she is likely excited to see the people with whom she shares this characteristic. She doesn’t feel like she fits in with the other gods, so it is possible that she hopes to find connection elsewhere.
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When the man arrives, Circe recognizes him at once—it is Daedalus. He greets her without fear, which Circe interprets as a sign that he is used to gods and witches. Daedalus tells her that Pasiphaë wants Circe to help her during labor. Circe asks why, and he says that she needs Circe’s magic. Inwardly, Circe notes that Pasiphaë’s request for her help is the only compliment she has from her sister. Daedalus adds that Helios is momentarily releasing Circe’s exile for this. Circe is confused and wonders if it is a trap.
Circe has no reason to trust her family, given how badly they have treated her. She is nevertheless flattered that her sister requests her presence, as it shows that, for the first time, Pasiphaë believes that Circe has value. Circe’s value lies in her power, which Pasiphaë apparently intends to use for her own benefit.
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Literary Devices
Daedalus adds that Pasiphaë requires that they travel through Scylla’s strait, which Circe recognizes as her sister’s cruel desire to bring Circe pain and guilt. Circe wants to refuse but thinks of the sailors who will lose their lives. Though she isn’t sure if she can do anything to Scylla, she wants to at least try. As the sun sets, Circe imagines astronomers hoping for accurate calculations. She packs a bag and leaves, knowing that her “lion could take care of herself.”
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On the ship, Circe marvels at its artistry, particularly the beautiful figurehead, which is a young girl. Circe knows that Daedalus had created it and that the ship—so impressive yet sent to dangerous seas—is proof of Minos and Pasiphaë’s power. The men of the ship begin to row. Circe examines their faces and is surprised to see that “each face was relentlessly distinct,” with lines, scars, messy hair, and various ornamentation. Such variation shocks her.
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Daedalus approaches, and in reference to his being searched when they boarded, Circe asks why Pasiphaë is watching him. He tells her that she and Minos fear that he doesn’t “appreciate their hospitality.” When Circe says he could escape, Daedalus tells her that Pasiphaë is holding something hostage from him. He says nothing more, and Circe observes his scarred hands that he rests on the ship’s rail.
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Seeing the deck’s blood stains, Circe asks about Scylla and learns that the ship lost 12 men on the way over. Circe feels sick with guilt as Daedalus describes the monster. She tells him that Scylla is her fault, but he merely nods and says that Pasiphaë already told him. Circe is unsurprised at this. He asks if she can do anything against Scylla, and Circe says that she’ll try.
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That night, the crew camps on land. Circe cannot sleep and wanders the shore while thinking of Scylla as she had once been, often flirting with Perses. Circe’s thoughts turn to Daedalus, and what Pasiphaë has of his. At first, Circe thinks it may be a lover, perhaps one that her sister had deliberately sent to the man to catch him. But Circe finds that Daedalus doesn’t seem like the type to be in a couple—he is alone.
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Circe begins to panic about what to do with Scylla. She considers calling for Hermes and asking for help, but she knows that he would mock her later behind her back. Knowing he won’t help—her struggle would amuse him—she thinks of other options and eliminates them. Helios wouldn’t intervene, and Aeëtes, who would maybe help to show off his power, is too far away. Loneliness, her life-long companion, settles over her. Suddenly recalling Helios telling Glaucos the law of irreversibility—that no god can undo the action of another—she wonders whether she, as the one who had done the transformation, may reverse it. She begins listing potential herbs, concluding with moly.
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The next day, the men are terrified. Circe gathers her courage to stay strong. She demands that Polydamas, the guard captain, give her his shirt and cloak. She sees him wanting to refuse, “jealous of his little power, to whom [she] [is] only a woman.” She tells him that it will prevent his companions’ deaths, which gets the crew’s attention. The guard hands over the clothes.
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Circe uses a paste to transform into Perses, telling Daedalus that Scylla had loved her brother. She orders the best men to the oars and demands that everyone put down their weapons, as they will only slow them down. Surprised at their obedience, she wonders if this is how life is for Perses.
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They reach the fog-shrouded strait. The men row as swiftly and quietly as they can. Suddenly, Scylla appears, her many heads stretching down from their cave. Just as Scylla is about to strike, Circe calls out for her. Using Perse’s voice and speaking slowly to give the crew extra time to row, she says that she (as Perse) has found Scylla to ask for her vengeance against Circe and to give her a potion that will change her back. At first, Scylla appears to listen, but her attention swivels back to the men. One head comes near Circe, so she throws a potion at her and says the spell to turn her back into a nymph. Scylla screams and hits the ship. She rears back to strike again but misses—the boat is safely past.
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As Scylla screams in the distance, Daedalus and the other men—battered from the encounter—fall to their knees, thanking Circe and offering sacrifices. But she can only think of Scylla’s blank eyes and realizes that her hesitation had only been from surprise at seeing a god. Circe snaps at the men, calling them fools for thanking her when it was her selfishness that brought this monster to the world. As they tremble away from her, she wishes that the sun would burn her.
