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Chapter 12
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
In spring, Circe is surprised to see another ship visit her shores. She walks to the beach and notes the fine clothes and weapons of the men on board. From the future, Circe considers the countless people who later claimed ancestry from the men on the ship. As Circe looks into the men’s silent, anxious faces, she notices that the air around the ship smells foul.
In the future, people will probably say that they are related to the men on the ship because they want a share in their glory. Although Circe hasn't yet revealed who the men are, it is likely that they become famous, given that so many people want to share in their fame.
Themes
Two people disembark from the ship: a young man and, to Circe’s astonishment, a woman. The woman speaks first, asking Circe for help and saying that they have committed foul sins in their flight from “great evil.” Circe understand that they are asking for the rite of katharsis, the cleansing of evil. Tradition forbids her to ask why, so she welcomes them without question.
Circe is astonished to see a woman on the ship because ancient Greek society didn’t often permit women to take part in heroic quests or daring adventures. Additionally, the woman isn't just a passenger on the ship; she is important enough to speak to Circe on behalf of the crew. Circe's shock at seeing a woman in a position of power is a testament to ancient Greece's misogyny, which often prevented women from controlling their own lives, let alone having authority over other people.
Themes
Circe leads the couple to her house, noticing that the woman, who keeps her face hidden, walks more steadily than the young man, even as he holds her as if to balance her. When they arrive in Circe’s house, Circe performs the rite and feels the air clear.
The woman's sure steps are symbolic of how she is more confident and capable than her unsteady male companion. But even though she is more capable than the man walking with her, she allows him to hold her arm so that it appears that he is the dominant one of the two. This act suggests that she is willing to hide her true power and personality so that the man she is with doesn't feel inferior to her—she is protecting his ego by diminishing herself. This is an example of how, when a society is uncomfortable with women having power, powerful women often hide their true selves in order to fit in with society's expectations.
Themes
At last, the woman looks up and Circe realizes from her “golden look” that she must be a descendant of Helios. Circe is captivated by the woman who, although not classically beautiful, has “a fervency” that grabs one’s attention. Circe learns that she is Medea, Aeëtes’s daughter. Medea explains that she couldn’t risk Circe’s recognizing her, in case Aeëtes had told Circe ugly stories about her.
Medea's "golden look" signifies her power, which she inherited from her family. The "fervency" that Circe describes could be similar to the same intensity that Aeëtes has, which he directs to selfishly acquire the things that he wants.
Themes
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Circe invites them to eat, and she watches Medea lovingly serve the young man before she serves herself. The man introduces himself as Jason, a prince of Iolcos, and launches into his tale of how he went to Aeëtes to win the sorcerer’s golden fleece. Medea, her hand on Jason’s, interrupts his story to emphasize how “No mortal, however valiant and brave” could pass the test crafted by Aeëtes, as it was a trick to kill challengers.
Medea is very in love with Jason. She tends to his needs before hers, which is clear not only in her diminishing herself so that he appears stronger, but also in her feeding him before she eats. She is debasing herself, possibly in the effort to make him love her, which suggests that she is aware that the men of ancient Greece do not appreciate powerful women. Jason's self-centered monologue suggests that he sees himself as the more important and interesting person in the room—he doesn't let Medea introduce herself further, instead taking over the conversation with his quest. Medea plays into Jason's egotism, boosting his ego by saying that no mortal—even one as brave as he—could pass Aeëtes's test.
Themes
When Circe assumes that they somehow cheated, Jason looks irritated, and Medea quickly assures Circe that Jason hadn’t wanted help, but that she, frightened for him, begged Jason to let her assist him. Jason’s indignance fades at this explanation. Medea then dismissively mentions that she possesses “some small [magic] skill[s]” and made “a simple draught” to protect Jason from harm. Circe is astounded that Medea, a mortal, has the powers and talent to make such a complex spell. Medea’s timidity seems ridiculously inappropriate in light of her power.
Jason is very arrogant and interested in maintaining his reputation of a hero. He doesn't want Circe to think that he didn’t complete the challenge fairly, which would suggest that he wasn't talented or strong or impressive enough to beat Aeëtes's test. Medea wants to protect his pride, which she does by telling Circe a story that makes Medea look weak and love-struck. By saying that she begged Jason to do as she suggested, it seems like he was helping her instead of the other way around. This way, it appears that Jason has more power in the situation, even though it is actually Medea who, with her magical powers, passed Aeëtes's test. She, not Jason, is the reason why his quest succeeded.
Themes
Jason leaps back into his story, which culminates in him escaping with the fleece and Medea, whom he suggests he rescued from her father. Circe can see that Jason already imagines himself telling the tale before a captivated audience; she also coolly notes that he never thanks Medea, “as if a demigoddess saving him at every turn was only his due.” Medea adds that she and Jason married on the ship, so she will rule Iolcos with him. Jason is silent, his enthusiasm diminishing.
Jason is so arrogant that he never considers thanking Medea for helping him, even though it was her capabilities that got him the golden fleece. As a man in a misogynistic society, he doesn't expect women to be more powerful than he is. So, he eagerly accepts Medea's version of the tale, which understates her powers and keeps Jason looking like the hero. Medea's help and talent don't make Jason fall in love with her, as is clear when he looks uncomfortable at Medea saying that she will rule Iolcos with him. He wants the power and glory for himself and is uncomfortable at the prospect of being married to a woman who would outshine him.
Themes
Circe then asks them to explain their request for katharsis. Medea cautiously tells her of their attempt to outsail Aeëtes, who used his superior powers to catch up. When Aeëtes neared them, Medea saw his fury and knew that he would kill them. She then says that “A madness came over [her],” prompting her to dismember her little brother, whom she had brought on board as a potential bargaining piece. The boy was Aeëtes’s favored son, so, as she threw his pieces into the sea, she knew that Aeëtes would collect the body parts to bury them properly. With Aeëtes thus slowed, Medea, Jason, and the crew escaped.
Aeëtes’s chasing down his daughter over the fleece demonstrates how he prioritizes his pride and glory over his family. Given that he did stop to gather the pieces of his son's body, Aeëtes clearly prefers his son to his daughter, possibly because women are ranked as inferior to men in ancient Greece.
Themes
Jason looks sickened as Medea finishes the tale. She then fills his goblet of wine, and Circe sees her slip in a powder. Jason drinks it and promptly nods off. Medea justifies the drugging, saying that “It is too difficult for him.” When Circe accuses Medea of lying about the madness, she confesses that she did indeed know what she was doing, although she adds that “some call lovers mad.”
The fact that Medea was indeed lucid when killing her brother accentuates the cruelty of the act. She heartlessly killed her brother in order to guarantee her and Jason's escape, which demonstrates her selfishness and callousness toward others, including her own family. It also shows how people often end up using their power to harm others in order to keep themselves safe. Like many people who seek to maintain their power, Medea sees others as disposable tools that she can use to get what she wants. Jason is already perturbed by his wife and her powers, which is now even clearer when he considers the violence that she committed in order for them to escape. In a society that expects women to be submissive, Medea is an outsider, and the shock of a woman committing such a violent act appalls Jason, perhaps even more than it would if a man did it.
Themes
When Circe asks Medea whether she regrets her actions, she shrugs off the question, saying that her brother, as a soldier, “sacrificed himself.” But Circe contradicts her: he didn’t offer himself up—she murdered him. Medea tells Circe that the alternative would be to watch Aeëtes torture Jason and his crew to death, after which it would be her turn. Seeing Circe’s disbelief, Medea goes on to describe how her father enslaved and tortured men, even siphoning away their minds so that they were “empty shell[s].”
Medea’s lack of remorse suggests that she has adopted some of her father’s callousness; it also demonstrates how the cycle of power and abuse even traps people who hate it. Medea knows that her father is a violent man and disapproves of this, and yet she unflinchingly kills her little brother so that she can survive. Her fear of losing her life leads her to committing violent acts, just like her father.
Themes
Circe insists that Aeëtes wouldn’t hurt his own child, which Medea sneers at. She tells Circe that Aeëtes despises her, all the more so since learning that she is also a witch. Aeëtes, she explains, was afraid that she would teach “his secrets” to another man.
Aeëtes—like his father, Helios—has little sentimental attachment to his children, particularly his daughters. Medea is sure that Aeëtes wouldn’t hesitate to abuse and exploit her, which is exactly what Helios did with Circe, whom he exiled in order to protect his own power. Aeëtes also resents that his daughter is a witch—he distrusts her powers and fears that she may arm another man with magic, which he possessively calls his own.
Themes
Aeëtes’s one hope for Medea was to trade her for poisons from another sorcerer. But the only other is Perses, who already has a wife “in chains.” Remembering how her brothers hated each other growing up, Circe is shocked to learn that they are now friends, plotting war against the Olympians. When Circe asks whether Jason knows, Medea is emphatic that he cannot know, for “A man wants a wife like new grass, fresh and green.” Circe inwardly thinks of how Jason is already pulling away from her.
Aeëtes, like Helios, sees his daughter as an object to trade to another man for his own personal gain, which demonstrates again how women’s value is limited to sexuality and/or motherhood. Perses also treats women terribly—he imprisons his current wife, whom he presumably keeps for sexual exploitation. Medea’s detailing of Aeëtes and Perses’s treatment of women lays bare the violent abuse that women experience at the hands of men in a misogynistic society. Even women who have power often feel pressured to comply with the notion that women are weaker, which Medea suggests when she tells Circe that she cannot tell Jason of her past. Medea mirrors Circe’s behavior with Glaucos; both of them know that the men they love are frightened of their power, so they reduce themselves to seem more acceptable to men.
Themes
Medea stands up and tells Circe that she and Jason must leave for Iolcos, where she anticipates being his queen. Circe senses Medea’s desperation and asks whether Jason, to whom her past and powers will always be incomprehensible, truly loves her. Medea is certain that he does. After all, she says, they are married, and she will bear him heirs. But Circe warns her that she is blinded by her love, and that the people of Iolcos—each wanting the chance to marry a daughter to the hero—will unite in pressuring Jason to reject her.
Circe tries to make Medea see that Jason will not love her, both because he will never understand her and because he resents her superior power. Additionally, Circe is sure that the people of Iolcos will all want to share in Jason’s glory, so they will try to get him to marry their daughters while pressuring him to leave Medea. This tactic shows how parents in ancient Greece often use their daughters as pawns, trying to marry them off for the family’s benefit. Medea, however, refuses to listen to Circe’s warning, hoping that her ability to bear children will keep Jason by her side. She is trying to be the woman that Jason wants—one who is powerless and whose value is limited to her sexuality.
Themes
Circe offers Medea an alternative: a life on Aiaia, where Circe will teach her. Medea is quiet for a moment, then asks about Jason. Circe urges her to leave him and embrace her identity as “A witch […] Who need answer to none but herself.” Medea sneers, asking if that’s how Circe sees herself. She mocks Circe further, calling her wretched, alone, and desperate for someone to brighten up her “childless days.” No, Medea tells her, she will not stay in Aiaia.
Medea, likely wounded by Circe’s words, decides to retaliate by insulting Circe. While Circe describes her life on the island as liberating—she can exercise her power and doesn’t have to live in an oppressive, sexist society—Medea cruelly points out the repercussions of being a powerful woman: loneliness and isolation.
Themes
Wounded, Circe retaliates, telling Medea that Jason already despises and fears her. To Jason, Medea is only the means to an end. As soon as he has reached Iolcos, where the people will pressure him to expel “that foreign witch,” he will abandon her. Medea is enraged but does not change her mind. As soon as Jason begins to wake, the two of them leave Aiaia.
Neither woman wants to give in to the other one’s arguments, because doing so would admit weakness. Circe bluntly tells Medea that, because of her power, Jason will leave her. The implication is that Circe and Medea will have a similar fate, in that society will reject them both because they are powerful women.
Themes
Several hours later, Aeëtes’s ship arrives. He calls out to Circe, who is thinking of how sweet he was a child. He orders her to hand over Medea, whom he knows stopped by. When Circe informs him that Medea has already left, he is furious. For a moment, Circe considers lying to Aeëtes and imagines that, if he thought that Medea had tricked Circe into letting her go, then she and Aeëtes could spend time together. But then Circe catches sight of Aeëtes’s blank-faced boat crew, whose bodies show signs of torture. Realizing how far-gone Aeëtes is, she lets her dream of a reunion go. He threatens her, but she responds that he cannot harm her on her island. He is momentarily surprised, but then he sneers at her and sails away.
Circe longs to feel close to her brother again—but seeing the men that he tortured, she realizes that this is impossible. Circe has grown into a different, kinder person than her brother, who fits in with their father cruel father, Helios, and the other gods. Aeëtes clearly has no sympathy for Circe, which he makes clear by threatening her. He wants to exert dominance over his sister by punishing her. He is surprised when she informs him that she will not let him—he wasn’t expecting her to push back on his demands, possibly because she never showed such strength when they were younger.
Themes
