Circe

“But in a solitary life, there are rare moments when another soul dips near yours, as stars once a year brush the earth. Such a constellation was he to me.”

Circe is a tale about a minor Greek goddess who grew up viewed as the weirdo or outlaw. She was never seen as anything special. She had no special powers or redeeming qualities. Circe was just, Circe. Her parents and siblings never cared much for her. Then one day she does something unforgivable. She was exiled to a deserted island where she beings to practice her witchery.

This book was beautifully written. So many metaphors and inspiring words. Simply beautiful. Though I must admit the book was a little slow, as it had long chapters where little to nothing exciting happened. But there were also many chapters where I simply did not want to put the book down, more specifically towards the end.

“I would say, some people are like constellations that only touch the earth for a season.”

“Only that: we are here. This is what it means to swim in the tide, to walk the earth and feel it touch your feet. This is what it means to be alive.”

I felt bad for Circe throughout the reading. Her parents and siblings spoke lowly of her, degrading her when she was right in front of them. Then she finally met someone who would listen to her. Glaucos was the first person who Circe could talk to without feeling like a burden or annoying. It is with Glaucos that she first discovers her magic, though she thought it was just fate.

The magic she conjured made Glaucos become his true self. He became outgoing and social. Circe was so excited to see him so happy. That is until he decides to propose to Scylla. This angers Circe, leaving her jealous. She did the same thing to Scylla that she did to Glaucos, but Scylla becomes a monster.

This is what led to Circe's exile. Before the exile, her brother Aeëtes told her that it was magic, not the Fates. On her island Aiaia, she begins to explore her crafts, spending her days doing witchery.

Alright, enough of reciting the entire story...

Circe meets Daedalus, a mortal. They share great stories with each other. Circe feels whole again, after being in solitude for so long. This is where things begin to upset me.

Everyone Circe has ever loved has been taken away from her. All I wanted was for her to live a happy life. In the end, she gets a happy ending, but it was all just a wish she was imagining. Being exiled for centuries, she had barely talked to anyone. She had her nymphs, though she did not care about them.

All those men to step onto her shore, to eat in her house, to be held in hospitality, only for them to do something unforgivable. They got what they deserved, for she used her witchery skills to tear them apart, to turn them into pigs.

Circe falls pregnant with a mortals baby. She knew the baby would be hated by the gods, but when she learns that her son Telegonus is threatened to die, she does everything in her power to protect him. Not him...I have been ripped of all happiness. All the people I have once loved.

Of course as a mother she is bound to be protective. But it's not only her motherly mindset that makes her feel this way, it is the way in which she grew up deprived of love and comfort. There was a sort of deal put in place. The gods did not want this child to be born, but at last, it was. Telegonus grows up crying and screaming for hours a day, never wanting to be put to sleep, be alone, or be touched.

He grows to be wise, handsome, determined. Blah blah blah Odysseus is his father and he wants to see him but he dies blah blah blah. I didn't really care about Odysseus, not as much as Daedalus, at least. But he made Circe happy and that made me happy.

I'm tired right now so I don't feel like writing anymore, though I may add more some day. Maybe not. But if you love mythology, I definitely recommend this. Even if you don't, I would still recommend it. Toodles...