Review of Circe—A Tale of Monsters and Witches

Circe the Enchantress, Witch of Aiaia, Daughter of the sun god Helios. Most of us probably know her from her dealings with Odysseus, as recounted in Homer’s Odyssey—how she was a powerful witch who turned Odysseus’s men into swine, until Odysseus’s charms won her over and he convinced her to restore them. But she was not always a powerful witch who held the fates of heroes in her hands. Madeline Miller explores the origin story of this unusual nymph and examines familiar Greek myths from a new perspective in her novel Circe, which came out in 2018.

Among gods, nymphs have little power, except what their beauty and charms can win them. Circe lacks even that, with her hawk-like eyes and frail voice like a mortal’s. But she soon discovers she has a power yet unknown to gods—pharmakeia, or sorcery. With powerful herbs and her more powerful will, she can turn mortals into gods and gods into monsters. Even the Olympians fear her—so they exile her to the lonely island of Aiaia. But solitude is more a gift than a curse, as Circe learns to grow into her powers and stand up for what she truly wants.

A major theme throughout the novel is monstrosity. What makes a monster? In the case of Scylla, Circe does. Scylla was originally a beautiful, yet mean-spirited nymph who taunted Circe after stealing the affections of the man she loved. At first, Circe thinks that she has only unleashed Scylla’s ugly inner nature. It takes much longer for Circe to accept the responsibility of her active role in the transformation—and longer still to realize it is up to her to unmake the monster she has created. Circe ultimately looks upon Scylla with pity, for even though Scylla was never a good person, it was Circe’s monstrous jealousy which turned her into something that devoured a dozen sailors from every ship that passed. Her next encounter with a monster is the Minotaur—the bull-headed child that Circe’s sister births after boldly deciding to have sex with a sacred bull. Once again, a goddess’s brash desires lead to the creation of a monster that inflicts death on hundreds of mortals. In fact, Circe soon learns that in general, the gods love monsters, because terrorized mortals offer better prayers and slaying them gives the heroes something to do. In this sense, it is actually the gods—with their greedy quest for power and attention and their complete disregard for human life and happiness—that are the true monsters.

But more than recognizing monstrosity, this novel is about women embracing their power. Circe starts out meek and deferential, dreading her father’s displeasure and trying her best to earn his praise. But she finds no love in Helios’s halls. Instead, once she is exiled and alone, Circe must learn to love herself. She embraces the aspects of herself that were laughed at and scorned by the other gods and slowly lets go of the guilt and shame from her past misdeeds. The once lowly nymph becomes a powerful witch, capable of taking on the most ruthless of Olympians that even her father Helios feared. The novel also gives us insight into the character of Penelope, Odysseus’s ever-patient wife. The wives of heroes rarely lead happy lives—in Penelope’s case, having to hold off a horde of suitors for years, only to be reunited with a violent and blood-thirsty husband. But in Circe, Penelope finally gets a happy ending, and more importantly, a fleshed-out personality of her own. We learn of the clever wit that made her a suitable match for Odysseus in the first place. But also of her deep compassion that allows her to befriend the witch who might otherwise have been her rival.

If you’re a fan of Greek mythology, but tired of celebrating the outsized egos of all the gods and heroes, Madeline Miller’s Circe is the book for you! You can find it in stores or buy it online and support The Gothic Library in the process using this Bookshop.org affiliate link. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!