Summary

Chapter 24 

Penelope returns from talking with her son. Circe goes to find Telemachus who says his mother told him what Circe has done for them. He also reveals that Athena has come to him many times and helped him. Penelope later asks Circe to be present during Athena’s visit, and Circe agrees and says Telegonus will be there too. 

Circe drops the spell after three days, and Athena arrives. She tells Telemachus she wants him to go found a city in the west and rule it. Athena promises to supply him with all he needs, and she has a ship with men ready to go. Telemachus respectfully declines her offer and says that is not the life he wants for himself. 

Athena is enraged, but Telemachus is adamant. Circe is also confused because she assumes Telemachus wants what Athena offers. She’s also rightly concerned that Athena will turn on Telemachus in anger. Athena says she will revoke patronage, and Telemachus will never be remembered. Telemachus fades a little as Athena takes her glory from him. Athena then makes the same offer to Telegonus who accepts despite Circe’s initial protests. 

Circe helps Telegonus pack, and Telemachus gives him their father’s bow. Circe is heartbroken when Telegonus leaves and thinks about the incredible loneliness of her immortality. On impulse, she calls out to Helios, telling her father she wants to talk to him.  

Chapter 25 

Helios appears, and Circe demands he end her exile. Helios says it is permanent, but Circe tells him to go speak to Zeus on her behalf. When Helios refuses, Circe tells him about her talk with Prometheus so long ago. She tells her father if he doesn’t end her exile, she will tell Zeus what she did, and he will blame Helios and gain insight into how the Titans truly feel about the Olympians.  

Helios threatens Circe, but she reminds him he has no idea what powers she has developed. She says she’s been able to best Athena, and she won Trygon’s tail. She dares Helios to try to move against her and find out how strong she really is. Helios finally says if he ends her exile, it will be the last thing he ever does for her.  

Circe goes to Penelope and says she’s leaving Aiaia. She tells Penelope she will take her to Sparta if she wants to go. Penelope says she would like to stay on Aiaia, and Circe teaches her how to protect herself from passing sailors. Then Circe goes to find Telemachus who has made a new prow for the ship Telegonus left behind in the shape of a lioness. 

The two reflect on how similar they are. Neither of them values the favor of the gods, and they hint to one another that they have feelings for each other. Finally, Telemachus tells Circe that he wants to go wherever she’s going. Circe doesn’t reveal where they’re going but says it won’t be safe for him. He insists that he wants to go. 

They leave the following morning, and Circe informs Telemachus they are headed to Scylla. First, they catch twelve fish, and Circe transforms them into rams. Then, she makes Telemachus invisible. Finally, she ties a pot filled with a magic potion made from Trygon’s poison, herbs, and her own blood around the largest ram’s neck. Scylla eats all the rams. Circe threatens her with Trygon’s tail when she realizes Scylla can see Telemachus. She guards Telemachus until the potion works, and Scylla’s legs begin to crash into the sea. The waves pitch the boat and damage it, but Circe and Telemachus keep rowing. The spear with Trygon’s tail falls overboard. Just as they make is safely through the strait, Circe sees that Scylla has turned to stone.  

They land on an island to rest and repair the boat. Circe tells Telemachus that she was the one who transformed Scylla. She also tells him that her past is filled with horrible stories, but Telemachus says he wants to hear them. She realizes that she can no longer deny her feelings for him.   

Analysis

As the novel approaches its climax, Circe’s character evolves so greatly that she has become much stronger than any mortal or immortal had ever thought she was capable of being. She faces down Athena and makes the goddess wait three days before coming to Aiaia. Circe gets to enjoy having the upper hand here in exerting some control over her nemesis. She is also strong enough to keep her growing feelings for Telemachus hidden. When Athena arrives and expresses outrage that Telemachus is not enough like his father to accept her offer, Circe boldly speaks in honest judgment of the goddess. When Telegonus says he wants to take Athena’s offer, however, Circe shows even greater strength by telling Telegonus that he can leave with her blessing if it’s what he really wants. Circe also shows great strength and courage by calling forth her father and demanding an end to her exile, after which she immediately attempts to stop Scylla. Circe has become closer to her ideal self here than she ever has before, and it’s evident in the way she stands up to her divine bullies. 

Telegonus reveals in this section that he does indeed share traits with his father, but only in the best sense. He demonstrates his ambition and his desire for adventure when he jumps at the opportunity to take his brother’s place and accept Athena’s offer. When it is time to leave, he is excited, looking toward the horizon and ready for his journey. However, he is humble and gracious in thanking the goddess for the opportunity she’s giving him. Likewise, he is gentle and loving with Circe and demonstrates an awareness of and empathy for her feelings. Later, he shows a humility his father never demonstrated by entertaining the possibility of failure and looking to Circe for reassurance. When Telemachus gives his brother their father’s bow, Telegonus again shows that he does not share Odysseus’s faults when he tries to refuse the gift, insisting he already has enough. Unlike his younger son, Odysseus would have kept everything offered and grabbed for more. 

There is a sharp contrast between Circe’s final meeting with her father and her growing love for Penelope and Telemachus, whom she’s only known for a matter of weeks. In her first interaction with her father in many, many years, Circe is reminded that blood ties do not equate to love or any other tender feelings. Helios agrees to help his daughter in a cold, transactional way, and he only does so because he feels threatened by her? power. In contrast, Penelope and Circe develop a friendship, and Circe offers Penelope not only a permanent home on Aiaia but also the knowledge she will need to protect herself. Likewise, Telemachus offers to accompany Circe on her journey even before he knows where they’re going or what danger lies ahead for him. With Telemachus, Circe experiences unconditional love for the first time. In a way, they have created a family on Aiaia. 

Telemachus and Circe’s relationship fully encapsulates the theme of the nature of love in a familial structure. As she and Telemachus approach Scylla’s strait, Circe is horrified that she allowed Telemachus to join her. She doesn’t know if what she’s going to do will work or if she can protect him. However, having him there not only demonstrates his love for her and his willingness to face anything alongside her—it also shows that she must have him as a witness because she believes he needs to know all of her in order to truly love her. After the monster is turned to stone, Circe tells Telemachus that she is responsible for Scylla’s transformation. Telemachus tries to comfort Circe, but when she reminds him that her guilt is similar to his guilt for hanging the maids when his father returns, they are linked by their regrets. Finally, Circe has someone who will love and accept her despite her flaws. 

Circe’s confrontation with Scylla is a powerful catharsis. She has carried the burden of responsibility for the murderous monster for a lifetime spanning eons. Circe does not know if what she’s attempting to do will work, and this reveals that she’s willing to try anything to end Scylla’s murderous existence. The fact that Circe puts her own blood as well as soil from Aiaia into the potion shows that she fully embraces that she is responsible for Scylla and that she must be the instrument of the monster’s final transformation. Notably, back when she encountered Scylla with Daedalus, she disguised herself as Perses. This time, however, Circe faces the monster as herself. She announces herself by name and claims out loud that she is the one who turned Scylla into a monster, and she is the one who will destroy what she created. By facing Scylla head on and claiming full responsibility for her deeds, Circe inches ever closer to her true self.