TW: Rape; graphic violence, domestic abuse

I recently finished reading The Handmaid’s Tale, and I’m having a rough time. I needed some women’s empowerment. Luckily, Madeline Miller was right in that corner. 

We have already discussed Madeline Miller’s books, specifically The Song of Achilles. Galatea and Circe follow the lives of two women, one in quiet defiance and the other condemning everyone who dares to mess with her. 

Circie Review

Reading “Circe” was quite an adventure. The book is short, but I felt like I had read a trilogy. It didn’t drag at all; on the contrary, it was captivating and had so much happening. The pace was perfect; it wasn’t rushed. Madeline Miller described a lifetime in about three hundred pages and made us feel like we lived it.

“That is one thing gods and mortals share. When we are young, we think ourselves the first to have each feeling in the world.” Madeline Miller, Circe

Beginning

The book starts with a lesser nymph, Circe, one of many children of the Titan Helios. She is not too pretty or powerful, so she is constantly overlooked. She longs to be loved and prove herself. 

She is fascinated by humans. She is the only one who offers comfort and companionship to tortured Prometheus and listens to his stories of humans with awe. 

The best thing about Circie is that she is so relatable, especially when young. Like everyone in our youth, Circie learns a harsh lesson in life. When you turn a man into a god, he will never remember who he was as a mortal. The man in question, Glaucos, soon forgets that Circe, the woman he once loved, exists. Heartbroken and jealous, she turns her anger towards the beautiful nymph Scylla, who caught Glaucos’s eye and heart, and turned her into a monster. 

“You are wise,” he said.

“If it is so,” I said, “it is only because I have been fool enough for a hundred lifetimes.”

Madeline Miller, Circe

This prompts her exile to the island of Aiaia, where another chapter of her long, immortal life begins.

Exile

Exile can also be a haven, which is what Circie turned Aiaia into. 

Her story truly starts here as a witch of Aiaia. Here, kind and naive, still young Circie, who welcomed all wayward creatures and cared for them, including animals, nymphs, and humans, also let tired men with ugly thoughts into her home. This is where she breaks completely and is forged again in iron. 

She is a villain in some stories, but in reality, a woman wronged and abused—a woman who men so hurt, that she turns them into the creatures that they became in her mind— pigs.  

“I never claimed to be good.” Madeline Miller, Circe

It is a journey to see the progression of Circie’s character, from a soft girl to a feared witch. It is all so relatable for me, too. And I’m sure you all feel that way too. Every hurt, every broken heart takes away a piece of you, making you harsher and angrier at the world, when you stop looking for the guilty and blame and punish everyone. 

Still, after everything, Circie is a woman who has a huge capacity for love. 

Romance

This book is a story of a woman and her life, but it is also one of the best Greek mythology retellings I’ve ever read. We live through the story of the Minotaur, Dedalus, and his beloved son Icarus. We will see Jason and Medea and meet the cunning Odysseus. 

Dedalus’s character entranced me the most. Circe met him while helping her sister give birth to the monster Minotaur. I’ll admit I was drawn to the single father who adores his son and is a genius in his craft. It’s impossible not to be captivated by him. Circe, too, cherished his memory for centuries, along with the magnificent loom he created for her.

We have two more great loves in the story—men who are men, not pigs. One of them is Odysseus, through whom we relive the War of Troy and the Odyssey. When he comes to Aiaia, he is tired and battered, but still a great, clever man. 

I don’t want to say anything else that would spoil the book. I will say this, though: the last thing that makes this book shine is the description of motherhood. 

“I did not go easy to motherhood. I faced it as soldiers face their enemies, girded and braced, sword up against the coming blows. Yet all my preparations were not enough.”

Madeline Miller, Circe

The pain and joy of having a child, raising him, knowing that you are bound to let him go one day. 

The End

Everything she has been through—the pain and the joy, adventure and the people she has met, her lovers, and the love of her life—is the story of one woman and, in her, the story of thousands, millions more. This is a story of a woman who has lived a full life, knows what it’s like to be utterly alone and cold, and appreciates people and warmth tenfold. 

Tale of Circe is a beautiful story filled with gods, monsters, and life. 

Galatea

The article is called A Tale of Two Women. The second woman was not as grand or famous as Circe. Sadly, she never escaped the golden cage. Her story is very short—so short that you’ll be able to finish it in one sitting—but it is no less impactful, and years after reading it, it is still living rent-free in my head. This is the story of Galatea. 

The Myth

The myth of Galatea is a love story about a sculptor named Pygmalion, who fell in love with his creation. He was so devastated by his passion that Aphrodite took pity on him and breathed life into his statue. The sculptor was overjoyed, and they lived happily ever after. 

At least this is how the myth is told. 

The Reality

But if you think about it, what kind of man was he, who was only satisfied by perfection, a perfection of his own making? Who wants a polished, perfect woman?

“Still others (myself included) have been disturbed by the deeply misogynist implications of the story. Pygmalion’s happy ending is only happy if you accept a number of repulsive ideas: that the only good woman is one who has no self beyond pleasing a man, the fetishization of female sexual purity, the connection of the “snowy” ivory with perfection, the elevation of male fantasy over female reality.”

Madeline Miller, Galatea: A Short Story 

You get a controlling zealot, who is so toxic that he breaks a woman who is made of stone. 

This is a devastating story of a mother whose child was taken away from her, a woman locked away and held as a trophy, frozen perfection. But don’t worry, where there is will, there is hope and defiance. The way this one woman defies everyone around her is remarkable, heartbreaking, and inspiring. 

Conclution

Madeline Miller is one of the most remarkable modern authors. She breathes new live in our beloved myths and brings a human aspect in the tale of gods and monsters. Her stories are not only the best Greek mythology retellings, but also very relatable, often heartbreaking and all consuming. 

“Although the two women are different in many ways, their stories both center around transformation, on finding freedom for yourself in a world that denies it to you.”

Madeline Miller, Galatea: A Short Story

If you love Madeline Miller, you will also like: 

Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes.

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

Elektra by Jennifer Saint

A Thousand Ships Natalie Haynes