Naivety
Perhaps the biggest irony of Circe lies in the disagreement of her age and wisdom, or lack thereof. She is a god that is gifted with eternity, yet naive as a child when it comes to trust and fate in others. The first person that shows her kindness, in the form of a mortal Glaucus, she misinterprets as love and goes as far as defying her family to turn him immortal believing that they can be together forever. She is even blind to her dear brother Aeetes’s disregard of her, and it passes a long time before she realizes that he never loved her. But, the most ironic of all, is her trust she has upon mortals, who end up mistreating her, taking advantage of her, looking down upon her femininity and even violating her, which becomes a hard lesson and hardens her heart towards them.
Odysseus
When the character of Odysseus is first introduced, and his time on Circe’s island, he is represented as a hero who fought beside demigods, and who is relentless in his determination to success. The picture that he is portrayed as, is also that of a strict but righteous ruler, and a man who misses his home, his wife and his son, especially, dearly. This also is mostly told by himself, and the story his wife and son is somewhat different. Odysseus didn’t find happiness returning to his home island, as Circe hoped for. The story that Penelope and Telemachus, tell is of a man for whom war didn’t end, and who is eager to go back to adding more glory to his name unwilling to make peace that his time has passed. He brings violence to his kingdom, killing men who oppose him and maids who make mistakes. He is especially cruel to his son, whom he forces accomplishing most of his bloody tasks and looking down on him, calling him a coward. This perspective comes as a surprise to Circe, but she then goes to admit to seeing traits of this man, despite her divinity bringing the best out of him.
