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Summary
Chapter 26
Circe and Telemachus stay on the island for three days making love and relaxing. She tells him her stories, and she feels relief in confiding in him but also anger at the thought of him pitying her. She’s certain he will think she’s horrifying, but he does not judge her.
On the third day, they prepare to leave. Circe says they’re headed to an island east of Crete, but she doesn’t tell Telemachus why. They stop along the way on various shores, sometimes encountering people and doing jobs for them in return for food and wine. They both reflect on how little they’ve experienced of the world. They talk about places they want to see.
They arrive at the beach where Circe first found the flowers she used to transform Glaucos and Scylla. She warns Telemachus not to touch them. After harvesting the flowers, Circe and Telemachus head back to Aiaia. On the way, Circe finally tells him the one story she’s held back about her rape and what she did to so many sailors afterward. She tells him she wants him to have the truth of who she is. He replies that wherever she goes from that point on, he wants to be with her.
When they arrive back on Aiaia, Penelope welcomes them home. After Telemachus goes to fish, Circe and Penelope talk. Penelope reveals that she’s practicing her witchcraft and wants to continue living on Aiaia. She also asks if Telemachus will be going with Circe, and Circe says he can if he wants to and that she wants him to come. However, she says she has one more thing to do.
Chapter 27
Circe kneels by a pool on her island and mixes the magical flowers’ sap with other herbs. She saves one flower to plant in Aiaia’s soil with the hopes that it will grow. Circe feels her magic along with fear gathering inside of herself as she questions what will happen when she casts her spell. She wonders if she will turn into a monster much worse than Scylla ever was. Then she imagines being transformed into what she most wants, a mortal who can live a human life with the man she loves.
She has a vision of traveling the world with Telemachus. They will have two daughters, and Penelope will be with her to help her give birth to them. They will live on Aiaia with Penelope when their girls are young and visit her often. They will also go visit Telegonus and enjoy his happiness in the life he has. Circe imagines looking in a mirror and seeing herself aging, but she will not be sorry. She will be grateful even though her life will be fragile as a mortal because she will experience the love with Telemachus and the life they can have together.
Circe envisions the life she wants as a mortal. She raises the bowl drinks her potion.
Analysis
This section brings the theme of love and family to its conclusion. Despite all her power, Circe chooses to be completely vulnerable with Telemachus. The fact that Telemachus wants to hear everything she’s been through is the first step toward Circe getting what she’s wanted her whole life: unconditional love. She lays out all the horrors of her life for Telemachus, certain that he will judge her and be repulsed. Instead, he listens patiently. Finally, when they are almost back home and she tells him about her rape and how she murdered so many sailors, Telemachus’s only response is to say he wants to always be with her. Sharing her story and having him accept her for who she is, regardless of anything she’s done, proves to Circe that she has achieved her life’s goal of being known and being loved.
Circe’s story comes full circle when she returns to the place with the magical flowers. Those flowers were the source of her most catastrophic mistake, and she seeks them in the end in order to achieve what she has now learned is the way for her to live a happy life. Whereas Circe wanted to bend the world to her will the last time she used the flowers, this time she wants to use the magical sap on herself. She is ready to become who she is meant to be. She is learning to trust in Telemachus’s love for her, and she’s enjoying their interactions with people they meet on the way. The two of them also speak of places in the world they’d like to explore, showing how Circe is ready to step into a new life and be someone she’s never had the freedom to be before. When she harvests the flowers and warns Telemachus not to touch them, she realizes that the flowers will not transform him in any way because he is already his most authentic self. She wants that kind of peace and authenticity for herself.
These final chapters also resolve the theme of transformation and identity. Drinking the magical potion is the most courageous thing Circe will ever do. She knows that a life with Telemachus as a goddess is not enough: she wants to be her best truest self not just for him but for herself as well. Circe recalls the last time she worked this particular magic, and how Scylla became a monster and Glaucos had everything good in him transformed into the arrogance and greed of a god. She is terrified of and uncertain about what will happen. She does not know if the spell will turn her into a monster who will tear Telemachus apart. The fear diminishes, however, and her courage rises as she imagines a future with Telemachus. She ultimately believes in her ability to have a mortal life with him because though gods are unchanging, she has changed dramatically, growing and evolving throughout her life. Circe was weak, selfish, vengeful, and violent. She acted out of pain and fear many times. However, she also learned from her mistakes and took responsibility for her actions. With Telemachus, she does not hide who she is but lets him choose whether or not she is worth loving. By bravely drinking the potion, Circe demonstrates that she finally trusts that she deserves the mortality and the love she wants to share with Telemachus.
