Nights spent on Nights at the Circus

When I first started reading Nights at the Circus, I was intrigued by the vivacity of the characters and the descriptions and quirks; however, as I progressed through the book, intrigue shifted to confusion, which in turn shifted to frustration, intermingled with bits of curiosity and joy. I will explain.

The book was not an easy read at times. I probably read mindlessly over many Christian and Greek references because I, the average reader, have minimal knowledge of this part of history, and therefore minimal knowledge of their relevance. The language that Carter uses at times is also difficult to follow, and reading parts of this book without a dictionary beside it requires more intuition than actual understanding.

When told to read the book as a base for theory rather than as a novel, I started to pick up on themes throughout the stories. The abundance of femininity, whether questionable, subverted, backwards, picturesque, or freakish, is cleverly written and sneakishly presented. The "cage" theme is notable, but I am still questioning its importance and its subjective, contextual meaning. Performance is a huge and hugely interesting theme that brings about the base for many of the other themes, such as femininity and gender. Despite these depthy premises, I found the most interesting reads (the joy and curiosity) to be the subverted characters and carnivalesque moments.

My favorite piece is what comes after "The child's laughter is pure until he first laughs at a clown" on page 138. Carter subverts the clown and his performance to no end when she reveals their contempt for the audience's laughter at their role, profession, humiliation and invented faces. She goes on to subvert the clown's audience on 176 saying, "The clowns. See them as a band of terrorists," suggesting their bizarre appearance works to make them seem "on the safe side of terror" and that laughter at their acts stems from the suppression of fear instead of curiosity and ambition for a fun time. It is refreshing to read a concept that is turned so completely backwards and upside-down, and these backwards moments are the ones that lend the most information to the audience about the style of the story, if it can be read as one, and the character of the individuals beyond their roles and performances.

These moments made it almost bearable to read on through the allusions and awry, wordy, broken-up descriptions of which many seemed (seemed, to me, for now...) to serve mere descriptive purposes in the end.

The Typical Freak Family

Yes, typical freak family. I say this because what caught my attention as a recurring theme throughout the book Geek Love was the fact that, despite their quirks and oddities, it seems the Binewski family could not escape the patterns and rivalries of the typical American family.

A most evident example is with the kids. Each have rivalries between each other, although they aren't about toys or play time. Arty secretly duals with the twins for show sales, feeling inadequate and desperate when the twins sell greater numbers, and gleaming when he wins their customers. He has the egotistical tendencies a first-born child. The twins bicker with and about Arty, as well as between them themselves about things that commonly plague teenage girls like family table seats, relationships with siblings, birthday presents, and boys. When Chick arrives, a rivalry begins on a deeper level between him and Arty, adding another dimension to the relationships and alliances between sibs. It is interesting to note, though, that Oly seems to be on the sidelines compared to the intense competition and scavenging between the other four siblings; perhaps this resembles the "middle-child" complex: there when everyone needs her but otherwise feeling barely existent.

Another example is between the parents, with Lil, a busty, model-esque picture of femininity, marrying "The Most Handsome Man in the World", Aloysius Binewski. Lil is Portrayed as a typical sort who demonstrates and intuitive fondness for her children and "tsks" while cooking for the family and family friends (pg. 112). She does not question Aloysius, the prosperous, inventive, and powerful owner of the carnival passed down to him through patriarchal lineage.

I feel like the more I look for examples of modern family tendencies, the more I notice, making their freakish and geekish traits just added quirks. I will fully accept and criticize my own reflection because there are spurts of incestuous feelings throughout the novel between Arty and his sisters that lead the reader away from this typical image... but that deserves its own blog altogether. Nonetheless, just noticing these things as I read along gave me a better ability to relate to the family, and perhaps this was the goal altogether to account for a lifestyle few could relate to in the first place.