In mid-20th century Anglo-American translations of The Odyssey, Odysseus is painted as a courageous, clever king while the briefly-featured Circe is portrayed as a temptress witch. This dichotomy changes, however, by the time these characters are featured in early 21st-century adaptations of Homer’s work; both released in 2018, Madeline Miller’s Circe and Delia Owens’s Where the Crawdads Sing reclaim Circe’s depiction by portraying a Circe-like character as a powerful protagonist, aware of her strengths and weaknesses. By analyzing the archetype of the witch and how it is reflective of patriarchal society’s efforts to reduce and isolate women’s power, I argue that the Anglo-American literary tradition of The Odyssey demonizes powerful women by portraying Circe as a witch to be feared. In contrast, Miller’s and Owens’s works offer an alternative Circe, one who is as a powerful woman, able to form relationships and gain knowledge outside the bounds of male-dominated society.
","abstract_html":"<p>In mid-20th century Anglo-American translations of The Odyssey, Odysseus is painted as a courageous, clever king while the briefly-featured Circe is portrayed as a temptress witch. This dichotomy changes, however, by the time these characters are featured in early 21st-century adaptations of Homer’s work; both released in 2018, Madeline Miller’s Circe and Delia Owens’s Where the Crawdads Sing reclaim Circe’s depiction by portraying a Circe-like character as a powerful protagonist, aware of her strengths and weaknesses. By analyzing the archetype of the witch and how it is reflective of patriarchal society’s efforts to reduce and isolate women’s power, I argue that the Anglo-American literary tradition of The Odyssey demonizes powerful women by portraying Circe as a witch to be feared. In contrast, Miller’s and Owens’s works offer an alternative Circe, one who is as a powerful woman, able to form relationships and gain knowledge outside the bounds of male-dominated society.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Conroy, Caroline"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Ryan D. Perry","Hava Gordon","Donna Beth Ellard"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:02:38Z","subjects":["Circe","Isolation","Nature","Sexuality","Where the Crawdads Sing","Witch","Arts and Humanities","Comparative Literature","English Language and Literature","Literature in English, North America"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
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"],"dc:subject":["Circe","Isolation","Nature","Sexuality","Where the Crawdads Sing","Witch","Arts and Humanities","Comparative Literature","English Language and Literature","Literature in English, North America"],"dc:title":["A Shift in Perspective: Temptress Witch to Realistic Woman"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:02:38Z"}