Gender Perspectives in Circe and the Odyssey

Gender Perspectives in Circe and the Odyssey

Homer’s The Odyssey is narrated from the point of view of Odysseus, and the reader can tell because it is a tale in which the men are portrayed as heroes and everyone else is made an evil being. Eudora Welty’s Circe is told from Circe’s point of view, in which one gleans the way she describes her situation from a more feminine perspective. The difference between Homer’s The Odyssey and Welty’s Circe is that the second author tries to get the reader to feel sympathetic towards Circe by providing reasons for why Circe turns the men into swine as opposed to mindlessly doing so, and, by portraying her as a lonely and grieving lady instead of as a heartless witch.

One of the ways the Welty’s story differs from Homer’s is that Circe provides motives for the actions she took against Odysseus and his crew. After Circe had provided the men with a meal, she is appalled by their gluttony, and remarks, “It takes phenomenal neatness of housekeeping to put it through the heads of men that they are swine,” right before turning them into animals. This statement tells the reader that Circe is taken advantage of and unappreciated because the crew emptied her home of food and took its cleanliness. The reader understands Circe’s disappointment and dismay by the sloppiness of Odysseus’ men, giving the reader reason to feel sympathy towards Circe instead of anger. In Homer’s version, the closest reason given as to why Circe transformed the men are these words, “Scarce had they drunk when she flew after them with her long stick and shut them in a pigsty.” The most common interpretation of the sorceress’s actions are of being cruel and irrational. However, when Welty provides inferable reasons for Circe’s actions, the reader can understand why she took the actions she did, and the reader can begin to sympathize with Circe.

By displaying Circe’s emotions, Welty’s story differs from the original, since the story was from Odysseus’ point of view. As Odysseus and his crew waited for the stars to rise so they could sail away from the island, Circe sings this verse, "Old, displeasing ones! There's another now more displeasing than you! Your bite would be sweeter to my mouth than the soft kiss of a wanderer." The most prominent words to describe that verse are grief and loneliness. Circe is lamenting the departure of the one she has felt a connection with, and is declaring that she would rather be punished than have someone be taken away from her. The reader can greater relate to and sympathize with Circe when she is “humanized” when she shows emotion. In Welty’s version, the witch is displayed as being lonely and struck by grief; in Homer’s epic she is depicted as being indifferent and emotionless, as described by her actions told by Odysseus: “Circe had been there before us and tied nearby a black ewe and a ram: