Circe Character Sketch

Book 10 of The Odyssey introduces the goddess Circe who lives in a mansion on Aeaea. When a group of Odysseus’s men come to investigate her homestead, she welcomes them into her home and feeds them lavishly. Little do they know that the food is drugged and after eating, Circe transforms them into pigs. Odysseus comes to save his men and escapes her tricks with the help of Hermes. After sharing Circe’s bed, Odysseus and his mean live in a life of luxury in Circe’s home for a year. Odysseus and his men finally leave, with Circe’s blessing and help.

I got the impression that, because she is a woman, Circe is somewhat marginalized. Not only is she divine and a sorceress but she seems to go against the norms of her patriarchal society when she captures and transforms men into animals. Although she is a powerful goddess, the men seem astounded that she would have the gall to keep men to do her bidding. On the other hand, she engages in the traditional “woman’s work” of weaving and caring for the man’s body (she dresses Odysseus in his preparation to leave). She doesn’t really fit into any category completely: she’s a goddess yet isn’t allocated complete power over mortals like the major deities have, but she’s not completely mortal either (despite her pretenses).

When Odysseus comes in, I get the distinct impression that Circe must be put into her “place” by this man. I think that the fact that she is neither completely divine nor completely mortal enables Odysseus to do this. Her trickery is no worse than what Odysseus has done, yet she must be returned to her proper place as a subordinate to a man. Furthermore, I found it interesting that when Odysseus threatens to kill her, she reconciles and says that she and Odysseus should find a “mutual trust” (line 10.308 in my translation) and yet, Odysseus still distrusts her enough to make her swear an oath to not harm him. Despite his distrust, Odysseus must still be granted permission by Circe for he and his men to leave. Again, I find a sort of liminality/marginality that could be extended to other strong female characters in the Odyssey: she is not completely subordinate but she is not an equal either.

~Kaitlyn