Magic Realism in Nights at the Circus

As I was reading Nights at the Circus, I didn’t find myself connecting to it. I found the frequent change between time within the narrative confusing, and a bit frustrating to read.

That being said, I really enjoyed the way Angela Carter’s use of vivid description. For example, when Carter describes Fevvers she says:

“She [Fevvers] looked more like a dray mare than an angel. At six feet two in her stockings…Her face, broad and oval as a meat dish, had been thrown on a common wheel out of coarse clay… It was impossible to imagine any gesture of hers that did not have that kind of grand, vulgar, careless generosity about it; there was enough of her to go round, and some to spare” (9).

I think that the description displayed throughout the text emphasizes Carter’s use of magic realism in the novel. She emphasizes the miniscule details that create strong imagery, which helped me with my reading of the text.

Magic Realism is an aesthetic style in which magical or supernatural elements are incorporated into a realistic environment. This blending of styles makes the magical aspect seem more normal, and helps the reader see the magical element of the text as realistic. Carter’s description of the mundane as well as the supernatural elements gives the impression that they are both equally interesting. By making them seem similar to each other, it gives the effect that all of the events are realistic. Because the supernatural is not given special attention it helps with the incorporation into the realistic environment.