.
After further investigation, one can begin to understand why Calypso held Odysseus captive. He was her only relationship, save the sporadic visit from Hermes. Her beauty is wasted on this isolated island; she is untouched, unnoticed. Who wouldn't be lonely under these circumstances? It makes sense that she would imprison a war hero who happened to blow to her remote island--she is unmarried, independent, and lonely. .
Calypso serves not only as a symbol for "free expression of female sexuality,"# but as a motherly figure, a juxtaposition against the war mentality or animus he is trying to get away from. Ogygia is a place he can incubate after the traumatizing years of war, where he can realize himself within her framework. To make his journey seem meaningful he needed to see it in the context of what he had before he had before he left. For any resolution, he needed a return to something familiar.
Circe is a goddess with a dual nature, apparent in her genealogy: her mother, Perse, is the daughter of the ocean, while her father was Helios, the sun.# Her role as compassionate healer allows Odysseus to regain his male dominance and heal emotionally. She, like Calypso, is alone, but not necessarily lonely. She amuses herself with her powers. .
Circe is best known for her ability to turn men into animals. Her ability embodies her opinion of men--a weaker, easily-dominated sex. She uses this power on Odysseus" men, turning them into swine. She saw the men already as swine in a sense and she was simply showing them what she saw.# This is not the first time we see animals on her island. Odysseus" slaying of the stag symbolizes a return to masculinity and sexual dominance. This is useful later when he has to confront and overcome Circe.# .
Odysseus gets advice from Hermes and enamors Circe with his ability to defy her powers. It is no wonder she falls in love with him; there must never have been a time when she had met her match, or at least someone who had the gods on his side.
