Question of the Week: Who is your woman in fiction? Why?
🌿 ‘Circe’ by Madeline Miller is the story of a supposedly ‘lesser’ goddess. Although I enjoyed reading this book, I think that it is slightly overhyped. Regardless, if you like greek mythology, you will definitely appreciate the novel.
🌅 Among all of Helios' gifted children, Circe was the odd one out. She had no apparent talents and despite being a goddess, she possessed the aura of a mortal, and was thus treated like an outcast by her family. Throughout her childhood, and even when she was older, Circe was called names, taunted for mortal-esque tendencies and humiliated by her siblings.
✨ When discovered that Circe practices witchcraft, she is exiled to live a lonely life on a deserted island because according to Zeus, witchery is a severe crime. This exile is supposed to bring her shame and remorse, but she flourishes in solitude. Circe embraces who she was meant to be, a powerful witch, and an even more inspiring femme fatale. What really struck a chord is that being a woman is neither an insignificant piece of her character nor the only part that matters. She is not inferior for being a woman, neither is she superior. She has flaws as well as strengths and neither are meant to appeal to men.
🌌 Although the story is primarily about Circe, the novel explores the background of multiple Greek icons like Scylla, Odysseus, The Minotaur, Daedalus & more with great context. A lot happens in the 340 pages of this book but somehow, the plot at large is quite slow paced. At one point, the book is just island descriptions, which I didn't completely mind because I can appreciate imagery, but not everyone will feel the same way.
🍷 For thousands of years, Circe has always been seen as a lonely enchantress in the legend of Odyseus but Madeline Miller has changed the narrative and done justice to Circe’s life. She writes about Circe’s hardships as a woman as well as her excellence as a sorceress. I would recommend this to anyone who likes fiction but I recommend this to women, in particular, because they will resonate with majority of Circe’s internal monologue.
Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
