Friends, The Circle doesn't end on a happy note.
Over in our "Genre" analysis, we called The Circle a work of dystopian fiction, but it might be a little more accurate to say that the novel is the prequel to a work of dystopian fiction. Why do we say that? Because The Circle shows us the disastrous decisions that give a tyrannical, totalitarian corporation the power to create a new world order.
As The Circle draws to a close, Mae Holland is thinking impatiently of that new world order, convinced that it's going to be heavenly—and that the world deserves to have its utopia now. As if that wasn't disturbing enough, the novel's final passage emphasizes just how far Mae has fallen down the rabbit hole of the Circle's invasive ideologies. As she sits by the bedside of her friend Annie Allerton—who was driven into a coma by the Circle's incessant demands on her physical, mental, and emotional energies—Mae's train of thought runs like so:
What was going on in that head of hers? It was exasperating, really, Mae thought, not knowing. It was an affront, a deprivation, to herself and to the world. She would bring this up with Stenton and Bailey, with the Gang of 40, at the earliest opportunity. They needed to talk about Annie, the thoughts she was thinking. Why shouldn't they know them? The world deserved nothing less and would not wait. (3.1.7)
Ugh. So much for the bright-eyed Mae who used to believe in things like privacy and consent. By the novel's close, Mae has become an exemplar of the Circle's selfish, endlessly acquisitive, thinly disguised consumerist ideologies, and whether we like it or not, her new world order is on its way.