Circe: Chapter 11 Summary & Analysis

Circe and Daedalus bond over their crafts. Circe is able to relate to Daedalus because she knows witchcraft and is therefore also conscious of the fulfillment that developing a talent brings. It is likely that their connection would not be as strong had she not developed a skill through hard work, something that she associates with mortals. In this way, their connection stems from mortal qualities.

Even though Daedalus and Icarus live in a castle and have some luxuries, they are still Pasiphaë’s captives. Gold is associated with power throughout the story, and its use here points out that, while the palace’s comforts may make it appear that Daedalus has some power, any semblance of control he feels is false. Pasiphaë can take it all away whenever she chooses. In this way, the “gold” of the cage—and the power in the situation—belongs to Pasiphaë, the owner of the cage, and not Daedalus, the imprisoned.

Pasiphaë and Minos want to keep Daedalus under their control so that they can profit off the things he creates. In their quest to accumulate more power, they are ruining not just Daedalus’s life, but Icarus’s too.

Not only has Pasiphaë created a violent monster, but she is using it to create even more devastation than it would on its own. She will use it to keep Minos and her kingdom in fear of her power and will leverage Daedalus’s guilt to pressure him into obedience. In this way, Circe and Pasiphaë are very different in their actions regarding the monsters that they created. Although Circe also made a monster (Scylla) for her own gain, she regrets her action and wants to undo it to prevent further harm.

In this passage, Pasiphaë makes the point that, in a society where getting power is the top priority, morals are meaningless because “The only thing that makes [a god] listen is power.” Because a person must use others or be abused, people are quick to exploit others’ kindness. Pasiphaë picked up on this behavior in her father’s halls, demonstrating how a person’s family affects their development.

Circe is surprised that Pasiphaë hates their family, given that she’s turned out to be exactly like them. At the same time, Circe’s acknowledgment that nymphs can only get power through others explains, in part, why Pasiphaë turned out so cruel. As a woman, Pasiphaë has very little power and is therefore susceptible to abuse. In order to survive, Pasiphaë feels like she has no choice but to play by the rules set by her family and abuse people before they can abuse her.

Pasiphaë goes on to explain how her interpersonal relationships are competitions for power. She reveals that her “friendship” with Perses was loveless, which suggests that the abuse she suffered at his hands made her even more unwilling to form attachments—she entered into her marriage with Minos seeking ways to control him. In this way, the abuse women suffer leads to their isolation.

Circe doesn’t want to be like her sister, who represents their family’s cruelty. This decision, along with her empathy and desire to undo the violence she caused by creating Scylla, sets her apart from her family. Pasiphaë doesn’t take this rejection kindly, likely because she believes that Circe doesn’t understand the abuse that she (Pasiphaë) has suffered. She unleashes her rage on Circe, pushing her away, which again shows how being abused and underestimated can lead women to self-isolate. Minos in particular makes Pasiphaë feel oppressed and limited in her role as a woman, as he only wants her to be a mother rather than a ruler in her own right. As a man in a misogynist society, he likely sees women as inferior; when a woman does have power, he sees it as a threat to his own. Similarly, Pasiphaë sneers at Circe’s suggestion that Helios would protect her if need be, because Pasiphaë knows that their father cares only for his own power.

Circe recognizes that creative people must be courageous, as the act of creating something new requires experimentation with the unknown. Daedalus is a famous inventor, so it is not surprising that he is bold enough to ask a goddess to become his lover. Because Circe associates creativity with mortals, this passage links mortality to courage.

Circe and Daedalus form a genuine connection based on their shared guilt—Daedalus for his participation in creating the Minotaur, and Circe for making Scylla. This is Circe’s first time being truly open with a lover—Hermes would use her weaknesses against her, and her divinity frightened Glaucos. Because these men didn’t respect her, she never felt close with them. With Daedalus, however, she can be honest because he respects her and even understands her feelings of regret. In this way, their empathy for each other unites them. Furthermore, Daedalus’s scars are a reminder of both his mortality and the fact that a person’s failures, and their growth from them, is what makes them unique. The Minotaur will be like an emotional scar for him, in the same way that Scylla is for Circe.

Minos’s making Circe wait to leave Crete is a way for him to show off his power—he is making it clear that she is at his disposal. Daedalus and Circe continue to deepen their bond, even though Circe knows that the relationship will have to come to an end when she goes back into exile. Because the gods fear an unmarried and thus unsupervised woman having power, they isolate Circe physically. This physical isolation leads to her emotional isolation, as she is unable to form lasting, meaningful relationships with people.

Pasiphaë’s selfish imprisonment of Daedalus and Icarus meant that Icarus was never able to experience freedom. In this way, Icarus is the collateral damage in Pasiphaë’s quest to accumulate and maintain power.