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Summary
Chapter 16
After sleeping together, Odysseus tells Circe stories of trying to return to Ithaca after the Trojan War. He tells of inciting Poseidon’s vengeance by blinding his son, the cyclops Polyphemus. He also confides that his former patron Athena has abandoned him. Circe is sympathetic and offers Odysseus a safe place to stay and heal. Still, Odysseus will not accept her offer until she restores his crew.
Odysseus and his crew stay on Aiaia and mend their ship. Odysseus tells Circe stories of the Trojan War and its heroes. He talks of the horrible things men must do during times of war to rally their troops and gain honor. Circe is reminded of the general brutality of men.
As time passes, Odysseus and his crew remind Circe of how fragile mortals are. She feeds and cares for them and gets to know their personalities. She even offers to remove Odysseus’s scars. She is glad when he refuses because she thinks his scars both suit and define him. He talks about Ithaca, his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. She listens to all his stories but does not share any of her own. She pretends that she has no past to speak of, and Odysseus asks to prolong his stay.
Circe enjoys their time together and asks him to do things for her to keep him busy and engaged. She finally asks him to tell her about Penelope. He speaks highly of his wife and is certain that she is faithfully waiting for him to return. Odysseus also talks about his son, Telemachus.
Chapter 17
Apollo arrives in spring with a prophecy about Odysseus and gives it to Circe. The vision he transmits traumatizes her, and she understands that her peace on Aiaia is a lie because the gods could take it away at any time. Odysseus tells her he needs to leave, and Circe shares the prophecy with him. He must travel to the underworld and speak with Tieresias before returning for one day to Aiaia and then continue his journey home to Ithaca. After sharing the prophecy, Circe and Odysseus discover one of his men, Elpenor, has died. Odysseus leaves, and Circe prepares the body for a funeral when Odysseus returns. She reflects that she has not taken the herbs that have kept her from becoming pregnant for at least a month.
Odysseus returns from the underworld where he got to see the souls of men he knew. But his father, Penelope, and Telemachus weren’t there and must still be alive. Tieresias told Odysseus that he must pass Thrinakia, home of Helios’s sacred cattle. Circe warns him not to make landing no matter what. She also tells him he will pass the island of the Sirens and through Scylla’s strait. They have a funeral for Elpenor, and then Odysseus and his men leave.
Analysis
Odysseus’s stories of war and glory reinforce the themes of power and patriarchal norms. By glibly dismissing many of the atrocities associated with the Trojan War, Odysseus reveals that he feels there are simply things men must do in the service of fame and glory. To be remembered is a man’s primary goal in life, and Odysseus is no exception. This idea is further reinforced when Odysseus speaks of his son. Although he says he misses Telemachus, he most regrets not being able to leave a mark on the boy which would have in turn strengthened his own legacy. But in a turn on the theme, Circe contrasts Odysseus’s stories about the one year he got spend with his son before war against her own neglectful father. She understands that she was never an individual to Helios, but simply something he used when needed. The fact that Odysseus differs so greatly is a salve of sorts.
This section is heavily loaded with foreshadowing for the rest of the novel. First, Odysseus speaks about a son’s responsibility to avenge his father’s death, an idea will come into play later when Telemachus chooses not to retaliate for Odysseus’s death. Odysseus believes it is a duty, but Telemachus will demonstrate that he has a much different sense of honor and obligation than his father. The second instance of foreshadowing occurs when Circe reveals that she hasn’t practiced birth control for at least a month and speaks of something growing in the space between her and Odysseus. These important details foreshadow Circe’s pregnancy and hints at her desire to have a child in order to ease her life-long loneliness. Finally, Circe’s choice not to share stories of her divine upbringing and complicated background with Odysseus foreshadows another change. It hints at the fact that the discovery of her true self is meant to come to fruition through another person. This will include an understanding that love means loving all of someone, not just the agreeable parts. This section marks a turning point in the novel as Circe races toward its inevitable climax.
Circe demonstrates much personal growth in her relationship with Odysseus. She does everything in her power to make him comfortable and happy with her even as she knows he will ultimately leave to return to Ithaca. It’s notable that she thinks her efforts are for his benefit, but in reality she is still very much selfish like the other gods because she is trying to tempt him to abandon his wife and son to stay on Aiaia with her. The act of trying to make Odysseus happy is not a selfless act but instead a performance intended to yield the result of keeping Odysseus with her. Still, Circe does not do what she knows other immortals would naturally do to make him stay. Instead of using her magic on him, Circe ultimately demonstrates restraint and growth by acknowledging that in doing so she would cross a boundary she has learned to draw for herself. Essentially, taking away his free will through magic would negate one of the things she loves most about him: his inner strength. Also, Circe understands that manipulating someone to love her is not real love. When Odysseus chooses to leave, Circe helps him. This act of selflessness shows more than anything that she knows love has to be given freely instead of forced.
Apollo’s prophecy and its violent delivery demonstrate the themes of the immutability of fate and of the devastating effects of men exerting power over women in brutal ways. Everyone in the world of the novel, Circe included, has a fate controlled by the gods. Circe understands that Odysseus’s destiny is to leave Aiaia and return to Ithaca no matter how dearly she wants him to stay, showing that no one has power over their own fate. But Apollo’s delivery of the prophecy is physically and psychically traumatic for Circe. It is a ruthless assault that is reminiscent of the rape she endured previously. She describes the experience as a physical violation that rams into her belly and chokes her, similar to the act of rape while the captain kept his arm across her throat, strangling her. Apollo’s violation here shows that the gods, like the men before, could rob her of any peace and do whatever they want to her at any time. The impact of the original assault will always be a part of Circe.
