Summary

Chapter 9 

The ship arrives with Daedalus; he has been sent by a pregnant Pasiphaë, who wants Circe to come to her aid. Daedalus also reveals that he is a virtual prisoner of Pasiphaë because she holds something precious to him to prevent him from escaping. Circe is suspicious of her sister’s motives but is interested in the chance to see more of the world. She also learns that they will be passing through the strait where Scylla lives and that the monster killed and ate twelve of the men on Daedalus’s ship on their way to Aiaia. She agrees to go. On their way, Circe devises a plan to reverse her spell on Scylla. They stop at an island to spend the night, and Circe considers asking Hermes for help but decides that not only would he refuse but perhaps it was his plan all along to get her to confront Scylla just for his own entertainment. Circe realizes no one will help her.  

When they are in Scylla’s strait, Circe takes on the appearance of her brother Perses, Scylla’s former lover. She tries to seduce Scylla by saying that she has sailed a year to find her, wants Circe to be punished for transforming Scylla, and has a cure. The monster pauses, and Circe throws the potion into Scylla’s mouth. It doesn’t work, but it does buy the crew time to get past the monster without anyone being killed. Daedalus and the crew bow before the restored Circe, promising their devotion to her, but Circe responds with fury. She tells them that she is responsible for making Scylla what she is, and she did it out of pride and jealousy. She admits that the spell she attempted was the strongest she had and that Scylla would never be stopped. 

Chapter 10 

In Crete, Circe finds that her sister summoned her because she is laboring in the final moments of a pregnancy. She needs Circe’s help because the baby is actually a monster conceived when Pasiphaë coupled with a magical bull when Daedalus created a disguise for her. Filled with guilt about his part, Daedalus makes the incision in Pasiphaë’s belly. Circe reaches in to pull out the child and it viciously bites her finger, causing her to yank back her hand and pull the monster out. It holds on, and Circe has to choke it to let go. While strangling it, she sees that it has the head of a bull and the body of a human baby. It finally lets go, taking two and a half of Circe’s fingers and eating them. Through it all, Pasiphaë screams for her sister and Daedalus not to hurt the creature, so they put it in a cage and have it taken away to be sealed in a room. Circe and Daedalus confer, and Circe concludes that even though the creature might be able to be killed, it might also be under the protection of a god who might curse whoever harms it.  

Circe has time to observe her sister and her home and realizes that Pasiphaë is not as powerful as Circe has become. She also sees that the people of the palace seem unbothered by such bloody deeds, implying that they’ve seen lots of horrible things. Circe goes to Mount Dicte to try to find herbs to heal and cleanse herself. In front of a pool of water, Circe summons a prophecy that shows her the monster’s future. She learns that it is mortal, but it is fated to grow and live out its destiny only to be killed later in its life by hands other than those of Circe or Daedalus. She has an idea, though, and gathers herbs for a spell to bind the creature to limit its appetite.  

On her way back to tell Daedalus, Circe encounters one of Pasiphaë and Mino’s daughters, Ariadne, who is curious about the creature she refers to as her brother. Ariadne takes Circe to Daedalus’s chamber, and the two discuss Circe’s plan before Ariadne takes Circe to the king and queen. Minos wants the creature killed, but Circe tells him about the prophecy she saw and her plan. Pasiphaë thinks it’s a good idea since the monster has already eaten every prisoner in their prison. Pasiphaë and Minos argue, and it’s revealed that Pasiphaë has done horrible things like murdering a hundred girls Minos has had affairs with. Circe realizes that all of her sister’s terrible deeds have been part of a plan that serves herself and that the monster is part of her plan. Circe and Ariadne leave, and Circe reflects on how humans, like Daedalus with his inventions and Ariadne with her dancing, can only find fame through hard work while gods find fame through destruction.  

Analysis

Daedalus’s arrival at Pasiphaë’s bidding brings new challenges for Circe. When Daedalus reports that Pasiphaë got Helios’s permission for Circe to leave Aiaia, Circe is reminded that she is subject to the will of the patriarchy, and she has never been valued by her father. Still, she is interested in the opportunity to leave Aiaia and experience more of the world. She is also interested in Daedalus, a man she compares to a meteor because he is bright and special enough to capture the interest of the gods somehow in spite of his mortality. There is also appeal for Circe in showing her sister how strong and powerful she has grown, evidence that she still seeks approval and validation from others, especially her family.  

Circe’s encounter with Scylla on the strait further emphasizes the dangers of unchecked godly power and the responsibility needed to wield it. This becomes evident in Circe’s realization that she might have a chance to undo the damage she’s done, not by releasing Scylla but in saving all the sailors who will be the monster’s victims. The fact that Pasiphaë made the captain go through the strait to manipulate Circe and get her to come to her illustrates well how her sister has absorbed and internalized their family’s belief that mortals only exist to serve the gods. Ultimately, though, Circe’s actions show that she accepts responsibility for Scylla. Facing her is different from simply confessing to what she’d done. As the men navigate the ship through the strait, the dangers of the whirlpool on one side and Scylla on the other are a stark reminder of the narrow path humans have to navigate in the world of the gods. Similarly, Circe’s warning to the men that weapons are useless against immortal beings relates to the vulnerability of all humans against the gods and the power they hold. Circe, unlike her sister, must navigate the responsibility that comes with her great power.   

Circe’s experience on the boat with the sailors as they prepare to confront Scylla further illustrates the misogyny of her time. While her impersonation of Perses is intended for Scylla, her trick also unintentionally results in all the sailors listening to and respecting her as a man. Ironically, this results in a brief moment for Circe to enjoy the power of being a man. When she calls out to Scylla and tries to stall the monster by pretending to be Perses, love-struck and hopeful that he can transform Scylla back, the monster hesitates and listens. This reveals the power of a man’s wiles in the novel’s world even against an immortal, bloodthirsty creature. The monster would never have heeded Circe had she worn her true face. The fact that Circe must wear the face of a man in order to command authority over both the crew and the beast demonstrates that even as an immortal, a woman’s place is on a man’s pedestal, not in a seat of power.  

Circe’s character evolves even further in this section of the novel as a result of her growing understanding of herself. Leaving Aiaia and visiting her sister in Crete gives Circe perspective and solidifies some of her beliefs about the world and herself. She is a truly powerful witch. Despite not vanquishing Scylla, Circe is able to transform herself, something she’d never tried before, to stop the monster from killing more sailors. She is also able to summon a prophecy to guide her in dealing with Pasiphaë’s monstrous baby. Circe can now withstand the scorn and mockery of her sister without losing her temper or being dominated by Pasiphaë. Additionally, Circe confirms that, as Prometheus told her, not all gods need to be the same. Unfortunately for Circe, all the ones she knows are arrogant, vain, selfish, and power-hungry. However, she sees that she is and can be different. She can be kind and empathetic to mortals as well as driven by something other than power. It is her desire to save human lives that drives her to seek a way to deal with her sister’s monster.  

Circe’s interactions with Ariadne reinforce how different gods and mortals are. Humans can only find fame through the perfection of their skills, like Ariadne in her dancing. Gods, however, become powerful and famous through destruction. The fact that Pasiphaë deliberately birthed a monster that will kill thousands of people in its lifetime illustrates her adherence to the ways of Helios’s palace: she does as she pleases without any regard for how her actions negatively affect others, particularly if they are mortal. This demonstrates how immortals attain and keep their power. Circe’s final thought in this chapter reveals her new-found wisdom. She wishes she could tell her niece not to be too joyful because it draws the attention of the jealous gods. Too much happiness and too much skill make Ariadne a target. Daedalus in turn proves Circe’s theory as he is held captive by Pasiphaë and Minos because he is such a gifted inventor. While the gods may cling to power in destructive ways, they will always envy mortal ingenuity.