TAS Students Discuss Witches, Monsters & Ancient Myths With Famed Author Through the Magic of Modern Technology

By Jim Klar, Communications Officer 

As if intoning an incantation of her own, celebrated American novelist and classics scholar Madeline Miller marveled how, “The wonders of Zoom are connecting us,” as she kicked off the first of two virtual visits with Taipei American School students. Indeed, it was the magic of technology, plus a generous grant from the TAS PTA, that made the Upper School English Department’s wish for a conversation with the renowned writer come true. 

The Song of Achilles, Miller’s first novel, was awarded the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction and became a New York Times Bestseller. Miller was also shortlisted for the 2012 Stonewall Writer of the Year. Her second novel, Circe, was an instant number 1 New York Times bestseller, and won the Indies Choice Best Adult Fiction of the Year Award and the Indies Choice Best Audiobook of the Year Award, as well as being shortlisted for the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction.  

Before authoring the two bestselling, award-winning adaptations of classic epics, Miller earned her BA and MA in Classics from Brown University. She has taught and tutored Latin, Greek, and Shakespeare to high school students for over fifteen years. She has also studied at the University of Chicago’s Committee on Social Thought, and in the Dramaturgy department at Yale School of Drama, where she focused on the adaptation of classical texts to modern forms. In conversations with TAS Upper School English Students, Miller expounded on how a more modern perspective can give added insight into interpreting the characters and plots of the ancient classics. 

Miller’s conversation with TAS Students often focused on how Odysseus’s nature has been perceived through the ages and the impact of the hero’s journey. “Odysseus is such a fun character to write about because he is such a chameleon, and he has been viewed so many different ways over the centuries. Many consider Odysseus the best hero of all time. And the ancients would not have agreed with that at all.” Miller discussed the variety of ways Odysseus has been portrayed and how many of the qualities he is imbued with could make him more of a villain, but she sees him as a soldier coming home from war with PTSD.  

“One of the things that I think is really interesting is to look at him as a war hero and to focus on him as a soldier. And I think that does two things: it allows us to see him in ways that are more sympathetic and it also allows us to be very critical of him.” She said even though the Greeks didn’t have language for PTSD, they understood it and it comes across in how challenging it was for him to return home.  

Miller also explored the portrayal of women and witches in The Odyssey and Greek mythology, and how she tried to give Circe her own hero’s journey. “Part of what drew me to Circe is that her power comes from her discipline. And her witchcraft became a metaphor to me for any sort of creative art, any sort of life passion…any sort of thing that you can use to transform the world. Witches are these characters who operate outside of these normal rules.” She added, “Artists,” herself included, “make some good witches, and vice versa…and I loved writing about a woman who was an artist.”” 

TAS students asked insightful questions about Miller’s inspiration and writing process as they benefitted from her deep perspective on the role of witchcraft and feminism in Greek mythology. After reading The Odyssey, Medea, poetry retellings of Greek mythological figures, and Circe, many were struck by the direct connections to their upper school English curriculum, especially with regards to the hero’s journey, changing societal values over time and the treatment and understanding of transgressive women.