Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

Mae Holland

Broadly speaking, The Circle is about the rise of a corporation that creates an oppressive state through the willing participation of the people it oppresses. When it comes right down to it, though, The Circle is The Mae Holland Show. By focusing his narrative on the moral disintegration that turns one young woman into a puppet of the Circle, Dave Eggers explores the motivations that might spur millions of people to sacrifice their rights and liberties for more convenient shopping and means of communication.