Swine Flu

There's a lot to like in Madeline Miller's Circe, but there's also one scene in there that made me very angry.

Let's start at the beginning. Circe, witch of The Odyssey, who kept Odysseus and his crew on her island of Aiaia,. is born on the halls of Oceanus to Helios, Titan of the Sun, and a nymph. She has 3 siblings; one births the Minotaur, one goes to Persia, and one sires Medea. All four children have the powers of witchcraft, which worries the gods, since it's outside of their powers.

Circe, who confesses to using her power to turn Scylla into a 6 headed monster after Scylla steals one whom Circe loves and turns into a god after a fashion, gets exiled to Aiaia. She also meets Prometheus in Tartarus before he becomes all like Same vulture, New liver. (That scene is really interesting.)

Circe get released from exile temporarily to help Pasiphae birth the minotaur, which does introduce her to Daedalus and Icarus. Later, her brother Aeetes's child, Medea shows up on her island with Jason and the golden fleece. While Circe does warn Medea that her story will not have a happy ending, Medea doesn't listen.

Circe does get to entertain Hermes on occasions, as he likes to drop by and gossip and share her bed.

Anyway, occasionally sailors wash up on Aiaia. And here's where the problem I had with the book shows up. One round of sailors shows up, and rape her. She then turns them into swine and makes pork chops and bacon. I have two major issues with this. Among other things, I really hate it when female characters, particularly powerful ones, have their agency removed for no real reason. Frankly, Circe could have turned the lot of them into sausage any time prior to the event. (I know, in real life, folks who should be able to fight off an attacker can't. Well aware.) Second, she had the right and duty to punish them earlier on in the scene as they violated the rules of hospitality long before the attack.

Anyway, this does lead to Circe swining anyone visiting, until Odysseus shows up. He spends a year sharing her bed, and leaves, and has his own story. Circe, in the meantime, has little Telegonus, whom someone wants gone because of his destiny. When that someone shows up, Circe manages to fight off her second Olympian.

And this leads into sources I was unaware of, as we explore fragments and summaries of the Telegony (attributed to Eugammon of Cyrene) and Odysseus Acanthoplex by Sophocles. In which Telegonus finds his father, and like so much of Greek mythology, kills him. Telegonus winds up bringing Odysseus's wife and son (Penelope and Telemachus) back to Aiaia. Circe is concerned, since she thinks Telemachus will kill Telegonus to avenge his father. (There's a scene prior to this where Circe delves the deeps to challenge one of the monsters and winds up with a tail that will kill mortals and make gods feel pain. It's well written and a testament to the love a mother has for a son.)

Without going deeper into the plot, let's just say everyone's relationships are strained, the Olympians show up again, and Circe does in the end confront her father to get what she wants.

While I really enjoyed this, I feel a bit like some of the story is a bit of Glinda telling Dorothy she had the power to go home all along. Because Circe is seeking her own agency, not knowing she's had it the entire time.