Summary 

Chapter 14 

Time passes, and Circe is lonelier than ever. The nymph Alke arrives to live in exile with Circe as punishment for loving a mortal. Alke sulks and complains until Circe threatens her. Word spreads among the gods that Aiaia is a good place to send their disobedient daughters, and more nymphs arrive. Hermes visits, and Circe knows he is consorting with the nymphs. She complains about their presence on the island. Hermes says Circe is boring, and she tells him to leave and not return. Circe’s lioness dies, and she feels old and alone.  

Sailors arrive on Aiaia. Circe is happy for the company and shows them hospitality, feeding them and offering them wine. She thinks that it would be nice if more ships stopped so she could help sailors who were hungry or lost. She sends all the nymphs away, wanting the company of the men all to herself. Eventually, she realizes that the men do not fear her as a goddess. They treat her as a mortal woman and ask questions to reveal that she is alone without the protection of a man. 

Circe pushes away the idea of danger, but she still adds a potion while refilling the bowls of wine, just in case. Circe continues to believe her fear is misplaced. Before she can say the words of the spell to protect herself, the captain throws her back and chokes her so she cannot speak. The man brutally rapes her, and she is left devastated and shocked on the floor until she speaks the spell and turns all the men into pigs. She then slaughters them all. 

Chapter 15 

Circe cleans up all evidence of her assault. She waits for her father, certain that he will come to comfort her. He never appears. Circe reflects on a story Daedalus told her about how sometimes when there is too much damage in a structure he’s working on, he has no choice but to tear down and rebuild. 

More men arrive, and Circe does not wait for them to threaten her. She transforms most of them into pigs. The respectful few who get to survive their encounter are the exceptions. Even though Circe no longer hides her divinity, men still attempt to victimize her. But she always maintains the upper hand and transforms them before they can act. She takes pleasure in having control over the men. The nymphs are still in residence with Circe, but she makes them stay in their room when men come.  

The pattern continues until Odysseus arrives at Circe’s door looking for his crew that Circe already turned into pigs. Odysseus impresses Circe as different when praises her loom and talks with admiration about his wife back home. As they talk, Circe is taken with his humility. He knows she is a goddess, yet he speaks comfortably with her and never drinks the wine. Finally, they speak frankly with one another. Odysseus reveals that he has moly, given to him by Hermes, to protect him from Circe. She tells him that he may be immune to her spells, but she can slaughter his men. Odysseus reminds her a bit of Daedalus, and she invites him to her bed to establish trust between them. Odysseus asks her to swear a binding oath that she will not hurt him once he puts the bag of moly down. She does, and the two go to bed together. 

Analysis

This section explores misogyny as a theme through Circe’s experience with the sailors and her attempts to safeguard the nymphs around her. It’s notable that to Circe the word nymph means bride. In one notable metaphor, Circe refers to these “brides” as a feast on a table ripe for the taking who cannot escape the men who might consume them. As such, nymphs, and women in general, are actually just food to be consumed by men in Circe’s world. Furthermore, Hermes once laughingly said that nymphs, and by extension all women, were easy for men to catch and do with as they want. In a reversal, Circe resolves to be the hunter and not the hunted. It becomes apparent that Circe sends the nymphs away when men arrive at her home so that she can enjoy her sport uninterrupted. She lets her lions and wolves stay to intimidate the men. Their presence, though, is a signal that Circe has become beast-like in her actions. She relishes her power and ability to not only protect herself but also have vengeance on men who might try to hurt her. 

Power’s destructive nature rears its head again in this section. Here, Circe comes to resemble the callous, cold gods she has tried not to be like, but she has not totally lost herself in her vengeance. She admits to letting some men leave, even taking lovers from time to time. However, the vast majority of the men prove to her almost immediately that she is justified in her suspicions and her violence. She takes pleasure in working her terrifying magic, saving the leaders for last so she can enjoy watching their fear and horror and as she exerts power over them. Circe reveals that she chose pigs as the form all the men would take because she wanted to humiliate them and reduce them to animals who live on scraps. This demonstrates that at least in this moment of self-preservation and revenge, she does not think of Prometheus’s advice from so long ago that she should think and act differently from any other god who as existed before her. Instead, she becomes as judgmental and violent as her brothers, her sister, her father, and even the Olympian gods who treat mortals like mere playthings.  

Odysseus’s arrival on Aiaia is significant in that his resulting relationship with Circe is profoundly different than her experiences with any other man. Compared to her recent visitors and even Hermes, he is the kind of person Circe been longing for as company. His intelligence and wit are refreshing to her. He reminds her of Daedalus, but Odysseus is clearly different. The fact that Odysseus speaks about his wife as clever and resourceful reveals his ability to respect and commit to the women in his life. This is something that Circe has surely never seen before amongst her fellow gods. She therefore finds herself somewhat disarmed by their conversations, but she’s rightfully still suspicious considering her recent visitors. The fact that Odysseus doesn’t drink her wine indicates that Circe has not been playing her game alone. This places him on equal footing with her. It’s exhilarating. He impresses her even more when he hesitates to accept her offer of becoming lovers until she swears by the River Styx. It’s important to note that this is an oath not even the gods could break. Again, she is on equal footing with this man. They may be lovers, but there seems to be no hint of manipulation or gameplaying. Circe’s course changes yet again from a seeker of vengeance to someone who may finally enjoy friendship and companionship.