Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
"Nights at the Circus" is a novel by Angela Carter that revolves around the life of Sophie Fevvers, a captivating circus performer who claims to have been hatched from an egg and possesses wings. The story begins in a London dressing room, where an American reporter named Jack Walser is skeptical of Sophie’s extraordinary claims. Determined to uncover the truth and enrich his article, Walser joins the circus as a clown under the eccentric leadership of Colonel Kearney. The circus embarks on a tumultuous journey across Europe and Asia, facing various challenges including a train wreck and encounters with bandits. As the narrative unfolds, themes of identity, gender, and reality are explored through the fantastical elements of Sophie’s character and the diverse cast of circus performers. The relationship between Sophie and Walser evolves amidst the chaos, culminating in a profound connection that transcends skepticism. The novel is rich in symbolism and offers a unique critique of social norms at the turn of the 20th century.
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Nights at the Circus
First published: 1984
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—Magical Realism
Time of work: 1899
Locale: London, England; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Siberia
The Plot
Nights at the Circus begins in the London dressing room of Sophie Fevvers, an English circus star. Her maid, Lizzie, slaps cold cream on Sophie’s face while Sophie answers questions from an American reporter. Jack Walser, from California, is skeptical of Sophie’s story, to say the least. He doubts that the wings on Sophie’s back are real.
Sophie claims that she was not born; instead, she was hatched. She insists that she is partly bird. Walser takes down notes of the fabulous story told by Sophie and backed up by Lizzie. They tell of Sophie’s childhood, spent in a whorehouse, and of how she learned to fly.
To resolve his doubts and to get a better story, Walser joins the circus. He is hired as a clown by Colonel Kearney, the owner of the circus. The colonel, originally from Kentucky, has a pig named Sybil and drinks mint juleps in the middle of the morning. He plans a circus tour that will go from London to St. Petersburg, Russia, then to Siberia, Japan, and finally the United States for the start of the twentieth century. Walser tags along on the tour and endures some harsh abuse. He survives a tiger assault and a train wreck as he tries to get his story. He also takes in a destitute singer, the Ape-Man’s former wife.
Fevvers, meanwhile, hurts her wings when the train they take through Russia derails and wrecks. She and Lizzie are carried off by the bandits who caused the violent wreck. The bandits want attention and ask Fevvers to take a letter describing their suffering to Queen Victoria of England. They feel oppressed by the Russian tsar and want their problems to be heard.
Another band of criminals, all female, breaks out of a rural prison, a panopticon for husband killers. They come upon the wrecked train in the snowy Siberian tundra. The elephants and Walser cry out in the snow. Walser flaps his arms and says, “Cock-a-doodle-do! Cock-a-doodle-dooski!” A blow to the head has thrown him off his mental balance. Once skeptical of Fevvers, he now acts birdlike too.
Walser has grown in Fevvers’ affections. As she is holed up with the bandits, she finds that she is in love. Desperate to locate Walser, Fevvers and Lizzie, clad in furs, set out on the tundra. They finally see a footprint that leads them to Walser. Fevvers restores him to his senses, and they make love in the end, she on top to accommodate her wings.