Circe

by

Madeline Miller

Penelope Character Analysis

Penelope is the wife of Odysseus and the father of Telemachus. When Odysseus doesn’t return home from Troy, many suitors squabble for Penelope’s hand. Although she has no intention of marrying anyone while she waits for Odysseus’s return, none of the suitors heed her requests to leave her home. As a woman alone, she has no power, and the men know that. So she waits, and with Telemachus she schemes about how to delay the suitors until Odysseus’s return. Odysseus describes Penelope to Circe as being “a fixed star, a true-made bow . . . she is steady.” These traits can be seen in her son Telemachus, although he does not have her subtlety and secrecy nor, it appears, does he wish to. Telemachus resents his mother’s silence in the face of Odysseus’s violence; only Telemachus confronts Odysseus in an attempt to curb his hostility. His directness sets him apart from Penelope. When Penelope comes with Telegonus and Telemachus to Aiaia, some of this jealousy still remains, although now it is mixed with suspicion, as Circe fears for her son’s life. When she finds out that Penelope has come to Aiaia not to kill Telegonus but to keep Telemachus safe from Athena, Circe is initially angry that Penelope has brought danger to Aiaia. But Circe feels empathy for Penelope’s position—after all, Circe certainly knows what it means to protect one’s child—and so she agrees to let them stay. Circe and Penelope become close, and Circe even introduces Penelope to witchcraft. Penelope, who loves weaving, is already a skilled artisan and knows the value of “will and work.” When Circe ends her exile, she asks Penelope to be the witch of Aiaia in her stead, which Penelope agrees to.

Penelope Quotes in Circe

The Circe quotes below are all either spoken by Penelope or refer to Penelope. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Power, Fear, and Self-Preservation Theme Icon
).
Chapter 21 Quotes

“You pity me. Do not. My father lied about many things, but he was right when he called me a coward. I let him be what he was for year after year, raging and beating the servants, shouting at my mother, and turning our house to ash. He told me to help him kill the suitors and I did it. Then he told me to kill all the men who had aided them, and I did that too. Then he commanded me to gather up all the slave girls who had ever lain with one of them and […] kill them as well.” […]

“I hanged them” […] Each word was like a blade he thrust into himself. “I had never seen it done […] I had some thought that it must be more proper. I should have used the sword instead. I have never known such ugly drawn-out deaths. I will see their feet twisting the rest of my days.”

Related Characters: Circe (speaker), Telemachus (speaker), Scylla, Odysseus, Penelope
Page Number: 308-309
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22 Quotes

“When I was young, I overheard our palace surgeon talking. He said that the medicines he sold were only for show. Most hurts heal by themselves, he said, if you give them enough time […] I took it for a philosophy. I have always been good at waiting, you see. I outlasted the war and the suitors. I outlasted Odysseus’s travels. I told myself that if I were patient enough, I could outlast his restlessness and Athena too […] And while I sat, Telemachus bore his father’s rage year after year. He suffered while I turned my eyes away […] But this world does have true medicines. You are proof of that. You walked the depths for your son. You defied the gods. I think of all the years of my life I wasted on that little man’s boast. I have paid for it, that is only justice, but I have made Telemachus pay as well.”

Related Characters: Penelope (speaker), Circe, Telegonus, Telemachus, Odysseus, Athena
Page Number: 329-330
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

Penelope’s face was bent to the floor. “I have, goddess. He is set in his course. You know his father’s blood was always stubborn.”

“Stubborn in achievement.” Athena snapped each word like a dove’s neck. “In ingenuity. What is this degeneracy? […] I do not make this offer again. If you persist in this foolishness, if you refuse me, all my glory will leave you. Even if you beg I will not come.”

“I understand,” he said.

His calmness seemed to rage her. “There will be no songs made of you. No stories. Do you understand? You will live a life of obscurity. You will be without a name in history. You will be no one.” […]

“I choose that fate,” he said.

Related Characters: Circe (speaker), Telemachus (speaker), Athena (speaker), Penelope (speaker), Odysseus
Page Number: 352
Explanation and Analysis:

My island lay around me. My herbs, my house, my animals. And so it would go, I thought, on and on, forever the same. It did not matter if Penelope and Telemachus were kind. It did not matter even if they stayed for their whole lives, if she were the friend I had yearned for and he were something else, it would only be a blink. They would wither, and I would burn their bodies and watch my memories of them fade as everything faded in the endless wash of the centuries […] For me there was nothing. I would go on through the countless millennia, while everyone I met ran through my fingers and I was left with only those who were like me. The Olympians and Titans. My sister and brothers. My father.

I felt something in me then […] I seemed to hear that pale creature in his black depths.

Then, child, make another.

Related Characters: Circe (speaker), Helios, Aeëtes, Telemachus, Pasiphaë, Penelope, Perses, Trygon
Page Number: 357-358
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Circe LitChart as a printable PDF.
Circe PDF

Penelope Quotes in Circe

The Circe quotes below are all either spoken by Penelope or refer to Penelope. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Power, Fear, and Self-Preservation Theme Icon
).
Chapter 21 Quotes

“You pity me. Do not. My father lied about many things, but he was right when he called me a coward. I let him be what he was for year after year, raging and beating the servants, shouting at my mother, and turning our house to ash. He told me to help him kill the suitors and I did it. Then he told me to kill all the men who had aided them, and I did that too. Then he commanded me to gather up all the slave girls who had ever lain with one of them and […] kill them as well.” […]

“I hanged them” […] Each word was like a blade he thrust into himself. “I had never seen it done […] I had some thought that it must be more proper. I should have used the sword instead. I have never known such ugly drawn-out deaths. I will see their feet twisting the rest of my days.”

Related Characters: Circe (speaker), Telemachus (speaker), Scylla, Odysseus, Penelope
Page Number: 308-309
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22 Quotes

“When I was young, I overheard our palace surgeon talking. He said that the medicines he sold were only for show. Most hurts heal by themselves, he said, if you give them enough time […] I took it for a philosophy. I have always been good at waiting, you see. I outlasted the war and the suitors. I outlasted Odysseus’s travels. I told myself that if I were patient enough, I could outlast his restlessness and Athena too […] And while I sat, Telemachus bore his father’s rage year after year. He suffered while I turned my eyes away […] But this world does have true medicines. You are proof of that. You walked the depths for your son. You defied the gods. I think of all the years of my life I wasted on that little man’s boast. I have paid for it, that is only justice, but I have made Telemachus pay as well.”

Related Characters: Penelope (speaker), Circe, Telegonus, Telemachus, Odysseus, Athena
Page Number: 329-330
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

Penelope’s face was bent to the floor. “I have, goddess. He is set in his course. You know his father’s blood was always stubborn.”

“Stubborn in achievement.” Athena snapped each word like a dove’s neck. “In ingenuity. What is this degeneracy? […] I do not make this offer again. If you persist in this foolishness, if you refuse me, all my glory will leave you. Even if you beg I will not come.”

“I understand,” he said.

His calmness seemed to rage her. “There will be no songs made of you. No stories. Do you understand? You will live a life of obscurity. You will be without a name in history. You will be no one.” […]

“I choose that fate,” he said.

Related Characters: Circe (speaker), Telemachus (speaker), Athena (speaker), Penelope (speaker), Odysseus
Page Number: 352
Explanation and Analysis:

My island lay around me. My herbs, my house, my animals. And so it would go, I thought, on and on, forever the same. It did not matter if Penelope and Telemachus were kind. It did not matter even if they stayed for their whole lives, if she were the friend I had yearned for and he were something else, it would only be a blink. They would wither, and I would burn their bodies and watch my memories of them fade as everything faded in the endless wash of the centuries […] For me there was nothing. I would go on through the countless millennia, while everyone I met ran through my fingers and I was left with only those who were like me. The Olympians and Titans. My sister and brothers. My father.

I felt something in me then […] I seemed to hear that pale creature in his black depths.

Then, child, make another.

Related Characters: Circe (speaker), Helios, Aeëtes, Telemachus, Pasiphaë, Penelope, Perses, Trygon
Page Number: 357-358
Explanation and Analysis: