Sorcery as a Site of Agency

From its earliest chapters, Circe makes clear that it is a novel concerned with sorcery; whether this sorcery appears via magics which resurrect the dead, as Aeëtes proves himself capable, or through potions and salves of transformation, like those employed by the eponymous witch herself, magic is a tool used by a select few to achieve their goals — whatever these goals might be. As such, sorcery is figured, within Miller's text, as a site of agency: a way for an individual to bend reality to suit their needs or desires. Because the novel is narrated entirely by Circe, examples to adduce such a claim stem, in large part, from her experience. For example, when Circe meets and falls in love with Glaucos, she resolves to find a way to turn him immortal so that the two of them might spend...