Mortality, Fragility, and Fulfillment Theme Analysis

Circe explores the differences between gods and humans. The novel follows Circe from her beginnings as a bullied nymph in her father Helios’s halls, to Aiaia, her island of exile, where she encounters gods and mortals alike. As the story progresses, Circe’s life becomes intertwined with mortals: she falls in love with mortal men, thwarts the attacks of mortal sailors, and even gives birth to a mortal child. At the same time, Circe distances herself from the gods, whom she knows to be spiteful, cruel, and egotistical. Although she learns that mortals can be just as wicked as gods, Circe finds that mortals, with their fragility, imperfections, and finite existence, are better able to appreciate their lives. After she knows herself to be in love with Telemachus (a mortal), Circe decides to transfigure herself into a mortal, too. Her decision paints immortality as a curse, rather than a blessing. Through Circe’s decision to give up her divinity in order to become mortal, the book demonstrates that, by its nature, immortality strips away the things—such as empathy, personal growth, and connection—that give meaning to life.

Because the immortal gods never fear for their existence and rarely experience pain, they have no sense of compassion for those who do. While there are instances when a god is in pain (such as when Prometheus is tortured), the majority of immortals do not experience pain—and if they do, they heal quickly. As Circe puts it, “There is nothing more foreign to them” than suffering. And because the gods have no knowledge of pain, they have no empathy for those who experience it. In fact, they are more likely to be excited by someone else’s suffering, as is seen when Prometheus is tortured; the other gods are thrilled to see his agony, and no one stops it. Protected by their immortality, gods have no empathy for mortals and are generally dismissive of mortals’ lives and deaths. When a god does care about a specific mortal—as in Athena’s interest for Odysseus—the god treats the mortal as a tool to gain personal satisfaction. Instead of letting Odysseus settle into a peaceful life after the Trojan War, Athena provokes him, hoping to incite him to action, but ultimately causing his demise. Odysseus’s happiness doesn’t matter; rather, he is simply a source of amusement to Athena, for whom “He must live in action’s eye [...] always delighting her with some new twist of cleverness.” By contrast, mortals—since they can die—are inherently vulnerable, and it is this vulnerability that generates both gratitude and empathy. This is most clearly established with Glaucos, who is a mortal before Circe transforms him into a god. As a mortal, he is gracious and kindhearted; fearing starvation, he is appreciative when Circe helps bring him good fishing. He knows how benevolence improves his life, so he is kind to Circe in return. But when he becomes a god, his tenderness evaporates. He chooses to forget his “burdened” mortal life and, in doing so, loses his compassion and becomes cruel toward others: he kills his mortal father, withholds help from his former village until he sees their offerings, and coldly rejects Circe’s friendship and love.

While gods do not have to work, mortals must labor in order to live, but their existences are richer because of it. With “excellences already bursting from their fingertips,” gods have no need to work. Ignorant of labor—and the fulfillment that accompanies it—gods spend their eternities idly existing. When they want attention, they gain renown “by proving what they can mar.” The gods honor (which is to say, fear) their fellow gods’ ability to destroy more than their ability to create. Mortals are the opposite—with no supernatural power, they must work to live. Through labor, mortals learn the value of “practice and diligence” and enjoy the accompanying sense of achievement. As Circe notes, it is through the “tending [of] their skills” that mortals gain fame. Furthermore, to achieve their success, mortals must try and fail repeatedly. Throughout the story, scars are used to represent how this failure leads to personal growth. Both Odysseus and Daedalus are scarred because of their experiences—Odysseus from years of battle, and Daedalus from attempted inventions. Circe sees these scars as their “name[s] stitched into [their] skin,” suggesting that a mortal’s failures and consequential growth are integral to their identity. Because the gods never experience failure, they never grow, which is reflected in the “smooth sameness” of their skin.

With their eternal life, gods are easily jaded, which diminishes their ability to form deep emotional connections. Because the gods live forever, they become uninterested by the people and events around them. It is for this reason that “gods love nothing more than novelty.” Helios marries Circe’s mother, Perse, not for love, but because she puts constraints on their relationship, which is new to him and therefore exciting. Hermes’s relationship with Circe is similar in that he is only interested in her insofar as she excites him with challenges. Even Circe experiences this indifference toward others as, after hundreds of years of living, the people she meets “yellow and fade as everything faded in the endless wash of centuries.” Daunted by how meaningless it feels to care about people when faced with eternity, Circe finds herself tempted into the same lack of interest in others that the other gods have.

But, in the end, Circe resists, for it is only when she feels love that she feels joy. Instead of giving up her capacity to connect with others, Circe gives up her immortality. For Circe, love, personal growth, and empathy—all of which are rarely found among the gods—are integral to life. As she puts the transformative potion to her lips, she realizes that, although she once thought that “gods are the opposite of death,” she realizes that “they are more dead than anything,” for they never really live.