Empowering Female Voices of Myth: in "Circe" by Madeline Miller and "The Penelopiad" Margaret Atwood: A Comparative Study

This book explores mythological narratives and conducts a comparative analysis of Madeline Miller's Circe and Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad. Investigating how contemporary retellings can change patriarchal representations of overlooked female figures such as Circe and Penelope in Homer's Odyssey. Firstly, based on feminist literary critique, the study focuses on the strategies and trends the contemporary feminist authors use to challenge traditional patriarchal presentations on themes such as isolation, guilt, motherhood, wifedom, and womanhood. The study is divided into two main parts, focusing on society's rejection of women, exile, justice, identity, and feminist ethics. The second part of this thesis conducts a comparative analysis of Circe and Penelope, focusing on the similarities and differences between these women, and demonstrates how Atwood and Miller transformed two previously overlooked characters into strong, morally complex, and psychologically developed women who no longer require men to define their power and identity.