So in Ovid’s Metamorphoses we see that a lot of characters throughout stories are transformed into the weirdest things like spiders, trees (mainly trees), and animals. In Book 14, I focus more on the character Circe who is basically falling in love with men already in love and when she’s rejected she turns everyone into animals. Now that sounds like revenge for the love she couldn’t have.
So basically in the first story of Book 14, we read about Glaucus, Circe, and Scylla, and their love triangle of how Glaucus loves Scylla and Circe loves Glaucus and nobody is getting what they want because Circe turned Scylla into a weird monster. She poisoned the waters and areas where Scylla felt most comfortable and made monsters come out of her waist (because Glaucus obviously wasn’t interested in Circe and she couldn’t have him) (Ovid 2010:386).
Following that, there’s the story of Circe and Aeolus and The Lastrygonians where Circe poisoned them and turned them into pigs (Ovid 2010:394). If it wasn’t for the man who had escaped to get help for the men, they would’ve all been trapped under Circe’s grasp.
And finally another love triangle between Circe, a man she loves and the woman that he is in love with. The story of Picus, Circe and Canens. Circe is in love with Picus who is in love with Canens and is devoted to her. After she tries to lure him during a hunting trip with a boar, Picus rejects her and claims he is devoted to his love and Circe gets angry. Being the witch that she is, she turns Picus into a woodpecker.
She is later charged for the disappearance of Picus by the men looking for him and she kills them all by poisoning them in the forest and she kills all plant life as well (Ovid 2010:398).
Circe is seen as a witch by all the people and certainly she has the traits and has always been known in Greek Mythology to turn humans into animals. But why? Is it because she has an advantage as a God to do so without any repercussions? Or could it be that she just has anger issues and wants everything her way and she has her rule of “it’s my way or no way?” She has a way with being a sorcerer, but as a god– has she taken advantage of what it means to have power?
We certainly know that the Gods love doing things without having to pay the price for it.
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I would like to think that Ovid is using satire in this example. He is using Circe to represent what society might fear in an empowered woman. They fear she might dominate and ravage mankind rather than working for the wellbeing of all. Perhaps ancient Greece wasn’t forward thinking enough to imagine a powerful female.
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I definitely agree with the other comments that Circe’s actions are placed in opposition to male gods (and mortals). Perhaps Circe’s position, while not quite morally right, can be understood. After all, how often do we laugh at men who are “unlucky in love” when scorned?
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I think Circe is used to getting her way. If she doesn’t get her way, she’s used to punishing the people who stop her from getting her way. She is kind of aggressive with the people she “loves” and doesn’t like to be told no. By turning people into animals, Circe takes away some of their agency so that they cannot defy her as much. Circe thinks she is untouchable.
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I find it interesting that in Circe’s case, when she is rejected by someone, she takes revenge by transforming them whereas a male god would simply take what he wants by raping the subject of his desire. It might be interesting to examine this with the question of gender in mind. Why is it so acceptable for the male gods to simply take what they want and why is it that female gods don’t (usually), but instead react with petty jealous antics like Circe’s?
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Not sure to what extent Ovid might be using humor here, but it is evident that Circe’s antics are pretty ridiculous. That being said, even by god standards, there is a strange sense of pettiness that almost funny by the way she deals with her unreachable love. In a way, it is parody of the way the gods have been acting this entire time because she gets caught in the same loop pretty quickly.
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I find it hard to reply seeing as how sympathetic I have been while reading Madeline Miller’s Circe, but I also understand the frustrations while reading the Met. I feel like we don’t get enough background to fully justify the actions of Circe and she seems far more inclined to use her powers when inconvenienced more than anyone we’ve seen so far.
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I think to a degree Circe also represents the risk of sorcery, and the danger it poses to mortals. Considering to a degree, there would have still been a belief in some magic during Ovid’s time, Circe’s power to transform others as one of the major gods might represent its risk. She ruins so many others lives simply because of her jealousy, and never really earns any punishment for it.
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I think that Circe is a powerful woman who typically gets what she wants. I think because she is a god, she knows that this put her at an advantage. I find it strange that she would punish Scylla when she does not want anything to do with Glaucus. Circe used her powers out of Jealousy when her reason was not even valid. Jealousy can make people do crazy things.
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