Nights at the Circus

Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus was a strange read for me. I'm aware that the novel is supposed to be read as magic realism and carnivalesque, but it isn't as easy to slip into as Geek Love was for me. As packed as Geek Love is with meaning and theory, Nights feels denser and less earthy and accessible. Olympia's reminiscence inner dialogue and reminiscence provided a human connection for me to understand, which I found lacking in most of Nights.

As someone else had said in class, I didn't finish the book by Tuesday so this is why the blog post is late. Once I got more into Book II I found the read much easier, but still haven't managed to finish Book II yet. the narration is still jarring for me, but I enjoy it the most when it slips into the past narratives, much like I did in our previous book. The storyteller vantage point is one I enjoy the most, such as Fevvers and Mignon's respective pasts, but the scenes such as Buffo going insane during his Last Supper routine was difficult for me to get through.

More on the book however, I enjoyed the philosophy that Buffo and the other clowns impart the first time we are shown Clown Alley. It's disconserting to see clowning as another form of prostitution, but it makes sense. It seems degrading, not seen as real work, and hiding behind a facade of idiocy. Parallel to that, whoring seems degrading, not seen as real work, and hides behind a facade of coquettishness.

The expansion into the uniqueness of a clown's identity reminded me also of a few passages from Wrinke in Time. The pride taken in being similar but not the mirror images of each other's unique clown faces echoed the sentiment that Meg expressed to IT, that like and equal are not the same. Like the analogy of life as a sonnet in Wrinkle, the clowns indiviudality could also be likened to a sonnet. There are strict rules, such as the outlandish clothing and the white face, but within that there is freedom in choosing their own face. Whether they want stars or squares, bright green or yellow, the clownss similarities also mark their individuality.

That's all I have for now. Hopefully I can plow through the last bit of Nights at the Circus before tomorrow to have full access for the Essay portion of the midterm.