Circe
Madeline Miller · 2018 · Novel
It reimagines a classic mythological figure from a feminist perspective, giving depth and agency to a character often relegated to a supporting role in ancient narratives.
What it is
Circe retells the myth of the Greek goddess Circe, focusing on her exile, her powers, and her interactions with various mythological figures. The novel explores themes of female agency, power, and self-discovery within a patriarchal mythological framework.
↑Inherited from(3)
'Cassandra' predates 'Circe' by decades, offering a significant early example of a feminist reinterpretation of a Greek mythological figure, providing a complex inner life and critical perspective to a character traditionally defined by her prophetic curse.
'The Red Tent' established a popular precedent for giving voice and agency to a marginalized female figure from ancient religious texts, offering a rich internal world and feminist reinterpretation of a foundational narrative, a concept 'Circe' later applied to Greek myth.
Both 'Circe' and 'The Penelopiad' take a well-known Greek myth and reframe it through the eyes of female characters, challenging the patriarchal assumptions of the original source material and exploring themes of female agency and injustice.
↓Passed on to(2)
Published shortly after 'Circe' in the same year, 'The Silence of the Girls' similarly re-centers a well-known Greek myth around the experiences of its female characters, challenging established narratives and providing depth and agency to those previously seen as secondary.
'Elektra' is a clear successor in the contemporary trend of feminist mythological retellings, directly following the success and critical acclaim of 'Circe' by focusing on the complex inner lives and motivations of female figures from Greek tragedy.