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Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Circe, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power, Fear, and Self-Preservation
Women, Power, and Misogyny
Change, Initiative, and the Self
Mortality, Fragility, and Fulfillment
Family and Individuality
Summary
Analysis
Circe and the men keep sailing. Daedalus continues to be civil, but he no longer converses with Circe. Regretting her Helios-like outburst, Circe assumes that Daedalus is avoiding her because of it. They finally reach Crete and moor at the wealthy city of Knossos. Circe imagines Minos, king of the bustling port-city, collecting all the gold from the docks, inns, and brothels.
Judging from the wealthy city of Knossos, Circe is certain that Minos has a lot of power. As a king, he is benefiting off all the commerce going on in his city. In this way, he benefits from people being in need—whether that is their need to moor their ship, have lodging, or make money through sex work.
Themes
As soon as they land, Polydamas orders Daedalus and Circe to the palace. He leads them to Pasiphaë’s rooms and knocks on the door. Just as Daedalus begins to apologize for what lies within, the door opens, and Pasiphaë calls for them. Struck by her sister’s beauty, Circe is amazed at how Pasiphaë, in pain and horrifically bloated, still dominates the room, “leeching the world around her pale as mushrooms.”
Even when Pasiphaë is vulnerable—she is in pain—she still commands the room with her beauty. As a woman, her sexuality and beauty are her tools to get and maintain power. She doesn’t let go of this power at any time, which speaks to the ruthlessness of the world in which she lives. She feels that she can never let her guard drop but must always be ready to exert her dominance over others.
Themes
As she enters, Circe announces that 12 men died because of Pasiphaë’s desire to torment Circe. Pasiphaë laughs at Circe’s pain and taunts her, guessing how many people Scylla kills each year. When Circe threatens to leave, Pasiphaë tells her to cheer up, that she is going to give money to the families of the dead men. When Circe counters by saying that “Gold does not give back a life,” Pasiphaë retorts that “the families would rather have the gold.”
Pasiphaë does not have the empathy for mortals that Circe does. To her, the men’s lives and deaths are at her disposal as tools that she can use to get what she wants. In this case, she wants Circe to feel like she is under her control. By indirectly causing men’s deaths, Pasiphaë also underestimates their value to their families. Having come from a cruel family herself, it is likely that she does believe that the men’s families would prefer wealth—which can be used to get power—than the lives of their loved ones.
Themes
Pasiphaë abruptly goes into labor. Circe orders all the attendants out, pleased at how quickly they obey. Screaming in pain, Pasiphaë demands that Circe, who knows nothing of childbirth, cut out the “thing.” When Circe hesitates, Pasiphaë orders Daedalus to do the cutting and hints that it’s his duty to do so. He steps forward and cuts without argument, Pasiphaë threatening him all the while.
Circe nevertheless enjoys the feeling of power, too, which is evident when she is pleased that the attendants obey her. In this way, she is not totally unlike Pasiphaë after all. Pasiphaë has plenty of control over Daedalus, who follows her orders without hesitation, likely because she has information or a hostage of some sort that keeps him indebted to her.
Themes
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Once her belly is opened, Pasiphaë orders Circe to get the baby out. Circe looks warily at her sister’s womb, but she reaches inside. Suddenly, she feels teeth clamping down on her fingers. She yanks upward, bringing with it a hooved and horned creature that she throws to the ground. Circe pins it by the throat, forcing it to open its mouth so she can rip her hand out. She has lost several fingers.
Circe is unsure what is in Pasiphaë’s womb. There is no love between Pasiphaë and Circe, so Circe knows that her sister only wants Circe present so that she (Pasiphaë) can make use of Circe’s power. Given this, Circe suspects that there is something different about the pregnancy that is going to require her magic.
Themes
Daedalus offers to kill the creature, but Pasiphaë demands that it live. He and Circe capture it in a blanket, and he stuffs it in a cage. Gasping from pain, Pasiphaë orders Circe to sew up her stomach, but she refuses to do so until Pasiphaë explains the source of the creature. Pasiphaë bitterly concedes and then orders Daedalus to explain. He announces that this is his fault, saying that he crafted a fake cow for Pasiphaë to hide in so she could get closer to a sacred bull. Pasiphaë interrupts that she had sex with the bull.
Pasiphaë’s baby turns out to be a monstrous creature, which draws a similarity between Circe and Pasiphaë—both of them created monsters. The difference is that, even though Pasiphaë has the opportunity to kill it now, she refuses to. The reason why is not yet clear, but given Pasiphaë’s obsession with power, it is likely that she wants to make use of the monster. The creation of the monster also implicates Daedalus, and Pasiphaë uses his participation to blame and guilt him, even though she is the one who wants to keep the monster alive. She uses his pain as a tool to keep him in her control.
Themes
As Circe sews up her sister, she says that Pasiphaë will be punished. But Pasiphaë laughs at this statement, saying that “gods love their monsters.” After Pasiphaë’s maids carry her to take a bath, Daedalus approaches to thank Circe, telling her that, had she not been there, he would have been the one who lost a hand. She kindly tells him that she is glad that he wasn’t harmed—her fingers will grow back. Daedalus leaves to make a bigger cage, leaving Circe alone.
Pasiphaë confirms what Hermes previously told Circe: that the gods love monsters. The gods benefit from all the terror that monsters cause among mortals who, fearing for their lives, give the gods more offerings and homage in the hopes that the gods will use their power to help them. While Pasiphaë never once expresses gratitude for Circe’s help, Daedalus approaches Circe to thank her for intervening in the birth, which resulted in her sustaining injuries while he was unharmed. Circe knows that Daedalus would be far more affected by the physical damage (as a god, her body heals quickly and perfectly), which is likely why Daedalus is so grateful—he has much more to lose. This could also explain, in part, Pasiphaë’s ingratitude. As a god, she will live forever, so she is not in need of as much help as a mortal is.
Themes
Circe can’t stop wondering why Pasiphaë had asked her, of all people, to attend the birth. But her horror at the existence of this new monster eclipses her confusion, and, deciding to try brewing an antidote, Circe seeks out her sister’s workroom. She finds it and is disappointed to find only some sloppily harvested basic herbs. At that moment, Circe realizes that she is a much better witch than her sister.
Pasiphaë’s messy workroom suggests that she, unlike Circe, is not willing to labor as much as Circe does in order to improve her skills. Her attitude is similar to many of the gods, whom Circe describes as loathing work. Because Circe is willing to put in the labor needed, she has the satisfaction of being the more accomplished witch. Circe shows her humanity as she decides to take it upon herself to find some kind of antidote for the monster. At this point, her experience with Scylla has taught her that no one else—certainly no other gods—will try to stop the monster’s violence, so she decides to try to do so herself.
Themes
Circe exits the palace and heads to nearby Mount Dicte, where rare and unique herbs are rumored to grow. She reaches the mountain quickly and feels it humming with power. She collects several plants and seeds before washing herself in a pool. Recalling Helios’s gift of prophecy, Circe decides to try to glimpse the bull-baby’s future. She touches the water, asks for a vision, and, sure enough, watches a scene appear on its surface: a man kills the creature. Disheartened, Circe realizes that the monster has many gory years to live before it will be killed.
Circe experiments with her powers more and more. In this passage, she tests whether she has the ability to glimpse the future like her father and finds out that she does. Her parents, and the misogynist society she grew up in, raised her to believe that she, as a woman, has no power. But now that she has discovered that she does have some power—she can do magic—she has the confidence to test the limits of what she can do.
Themes
An idea forms in Circe’s mind. She gathers more herbs, which she grounds to a paste and mixes with some water from the pool. The next day, she returns to the palace, outside of which she spots a young girl dancing in a courtyard. The girl approaches and introduces herself as her niece, Ariadne.
Even though the vision shows that Circe cannot kill the monster, she is still intent on doing something to reduce the monster’s violence. Her resolve reveals that she is dedicated to making the world a less cruel place. Even though she knows that her abilities are limited, she prefers to have some positive impact rather than doing nothing at all.
Themes
When Circe tells Ariadne that she must speak with Daedalus, the young girl offers to take her to his workshop. When they arrive, Circe tells him that the monster will die, but not for many years. It wants human flesh, but she hopes that her spell will contain its appetite to just the harvest season of the year. Daedalus accepts the information with resolve and promises to finish the new cage soon. As they leave, Ariadne asks whether they were referring to her new brother.
Daedalus and Circe are similar in their resolve to reduce the potential harm that the monster will cause. While this demonstrates their compassion and desire to do right, the situation reveals their helplessness. Because Pasiphaë will not let them kill the monster, any change that Daedalus and Circe carry out will only mitigate the monster’s violence without actually ending it. Their situation is representative of how an individual person’s kindness cannot dismantle their society’s hierarchy, which will exist as long as some people possess a disproportionate amount of power. Nonetheless, Daedalus and Circe’s efforts will make a difference in some people’s lives, even if it doesn’t change everything, which shows that it is better to do what one can than to do nothing at all.
Themes
Accompanied by Ariadne, Circe stands before Pasiphaë and Minos, the latter of whom is old and ghastly. He demands to know what she has been doing and is furious to learn that she has only prepared a draught—he wants the monster to die. But Circe tells him that the monster cannot die yet, although she can restrict its hunger until its fate comes. Pasiphaë is delighted to know that her beastly son has a destiny and implies that Minos may be one of his victims.
Pasiphaë and Minos’s marriage is clearly not a loving one. Pasiphaë’s implying that her monster may kill Minos suggests that one of the reasons why she wants to keep the beast alive is to keep Minos afraid of her. In this way, their relationship is a competition for power.
Themes
Eyes blazing with hatred, Minos jabs a finger at Circe, exclaiming that the whole situation is the fault of Circe and her family. They cursed him with Pasiphaë, who torments him. Pasiphaë interrupts him, urging him to tell Circe of the deaths of the countless serving girls he has had sex with. As Minos continues to rant, Circe understands that her sister, who must have felt outperformed by her siblings, chose to breed a monster for power and fame.
In this passage, Circe realizes the reasons behind Pasiphaë’s giving birth to a monster. Given how much Pasiphaë and Minos hate each other, it is likely that Pasiphaë wants to use the monster to keep Minos afraid of her and her power. Additionally, the monster will get plenty of attention from gods and mortals alike, which will make Pasiphaë famous. Just as Perse saw her children’s powers as a way to attach herself to their fame, Pasiphaë is eager to use the fear and violence her son will cause as a means of gaining recognition. In this way, she is taking after her mother.
Themes
As Pasiphaë jeers at Minos, asking whether he thought the girls died from pleasure, Circe takes Ariadne with her as she leaves. They walk back to the courtyard, where Ariadne asks whether Circe’s spell will make her brother more docile. Circe says that that is her hope. After a moment, Ariadne asks Circe to stay while she dances. As she watches, she realizes that while mortals win fame through practiced craft and talent, gods find it through destruction and the mortals’ offerings that accompany it.
Ariadne seems to be a gentler and more sensitive person than her mother; she sees the monster as her brother instead of a beast or simply a tool to gain power. While Circe watches her dance, she realizes that Ariadne’s morality encourages her to focus her energy on crafting a skill. With their finite lives and limited power, mortals have to become extremely talented in order to gain recognition from gods and historians alike. Because the gods’ powers and perfection spare them from laboring, they do not know the accomplishment that comes with developing a craft or talent. Additionally, anything they create with their power is not impressive, as they use sheer power rather than skill. Therefore, when gods want attention, they get it through wreaking havoc on those who have less power than they do and are then prompted to give the gods offerings and homage.
Themes
