For the average 20 year old, Homer’s The Odyssey must seem as impenetrable as the city of Troy. Yet, a Trojan horse emerges. Madeline Miller’s feminist retelling Circe breathes life into the centuries-old staple, as she aims to dismantle the literary classic’s misogynistic and stuffy undertones.  

While Homer teaches us that male bravado is nothing new, many believe that we live in a world where it is no longer acceptable. Yet, as the last remaining superpower voted in the pinnacle of male chauvinism the same year as the book’s release, a radical empowering of a female character proves necessary.

So, what can we learn about society from a 3000 year old witch, who’s been mistreated and stereotyped for centuries? Miller’s response: quite a lot. As a lens into contemporary forms of discrimination, Circe becomes an unlikely hero in a novel designed to exploit her.

Misunderstood since the 8th Century BC       

Circe, born from the glittering Titan, Helios, who shines as bright as the novel’s gold-trimmed cover, has been branded an outsider. Ever since her alarmingly human voice uttered her first words, Circe is deemed a threat. Yet, she possesses something that can bring the Gods to their knees: the power of witchcraft. Underestimated at best, Circe tames men and monster.

Harnessing Circe’s knack for a little magic, herself, Miller gives a voice to a once muzzled female, in her unexpected, fresh take on an age old text.  

Her alienation in the text jumps straight from Homer’s pages to our modern day interpretations. Mirroring the abuse from her family, readers, for centuries, have typecast Circe as a seductress. This negative depiction, formed strategically by Homer, ever since he set her likeness to paper, prevails. Her conniving schemes and fragile femininity, both of which are ultimately tamed by Odysseus’ mighty masculinity are continuously highlighted across popular culture. But, in tune with Odyssey’s knack for a little vengeance, Miller seeks justice for Circe, offering an alternate picture.

Truthfully, a progessive witch conjures up less stigmatized notions than it used to. Our society has been engulfed with rebellious female leads with a splash of precocious feminism: think of Hermione Granger and Sabrina the Teenage witch.

Miller unabashedly plays into these same tropes. Yet, the author achieves the impossible: she injects feminism and twenty-first century ideals into a classic, deemed hopelessly problematic by some, while simultaneously connecting to a generation of underestimated and stigmatized youth.

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Sorcery and Systemic Discrimination?

Circe juggles two identities: her divine status by birth, and her affinity for earthly humans. (Not to mention, her dabbling in magic further complicates things.) This “otherness” and sense of dual identities mirrors the struggle many individuals face due to systematic discrimination in our society.

Circe longs for acceptance from her family, against a system and divine society which strives to label; never goddess enough, never human enough.  

Similarly, many Americans feel as though their stories have already been told simply because of their backgrounds, religion, ethnicity, or race. Despite the plurality and multiculturalism of our society, there is still a narrow definition of what it means to be an American. With our country’s past history of racial and ethnic exclusion, many feel disadvantaged in their pursuit of achieving full acceptance in American society. 

Miller’s portrayal of Circe is much more accepting than Homer’s, as she defies these preconceived labels in Homer’s fictional world and our own. Homer, although arguably more forgiving for his male characters, embodies the judgement of society. Miller’s retelling identifies an idealized vision of the world, free of assumptions, misunderstanding, and scrutiny, where we can shape our own stories.  

Miller’s Lifelong Motive

Miller spent most of her life teaching high school students in Latin, Greek, and Shakespeare. Entranced by these great works ever since she was a child roaming the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Ancient Greek exhibits, Miller has always had a fascination with these classic texts. She chose teaching to help her vulnerable adolescent students cultivate, “a safe space to explore different parts of themselves that sometimes get shut down in the hurly-burly of adolescence.” Her latest novel, in all its bravado and gold-trimmed grandeur, proves simply an extension of her life-time’s work.

The Modern Retelling We Need   

So ingrained in our society, The Odyssey and Greek Mythology are constantly-retold stories that we’ve always experienced, as we become linked to a countless number of readers before us. 

Here, the male perspective is finally challenged. Miller, with faithful inspection, recognizes a muted voice in Homer’s work that deserves a second life and helps the heroine break free of her literary chains.

As we face a cultural awakening in the shadow of an upcoming election, many Americans refuse to be silenced. Like these mavericks, Circe may be underestimated, but this, of course, would be at your own peril.