Transformations of Circe: The History of an Enchantress (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780252063565)

Beginning with a detailed study of Homer's balance of negative and positive elements in the Circe-Odysseus myth, Judith Yarnall employs text and illustrations to demonstrate how Homer's Circe is connected with age-old traditions of goddess worship. She then examines how the image of a one-sided "witch," who first appeared in the commentary of Homer's allegorical interpreters, proved remarkably persistent, influencing Virgil and Ovid. Yarnall concludes with a discussion of work by Margaret Atwood and Eudora Welty in which the enchantress at last speaks in her own voice: that of a woman isolated by, but unashamed of, her power.


Author: Judith Yarnall
ISBN-10: 0252063562
ISBN-13: 9780252063565
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Language: English
Published: 02/01/1994
Pages: 256
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.89lbs
Size: 9.14h x 6.44w x 0.74d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 04/01/1994 pg. 100