Themes in The Night Circus- The Competition

          The Competition between the two young magicians, Celia and Marco, is one of the most intriguing and peculiar things about The Night Circus.  The author slowly reveals the conditions for the game throughout the book; making the competition somewhat of a mystery.  Instead of being just a competition of magical ability, it turns into something much deeper.

          Page 420 says,"The one who survives is the victor," she says. "The winner lives, the loser dies.  That's how the game ends."
          "That--" Marco stops, shaking his head. "That cannot be the intent of this."
          "It is," Celia says. "It is a test of endurance, not skill. I'm attempting to make the circus self-sufficient before..."
          "Your going to do what your father did," Marco says. "Your going to take yourself off the board."
          "Not precisely," she says. "I suppose I was always more my mother's daughter."
          "No," Marco says. "You cannot mean that."
          "It's the only way to stop the game."
          "Then we'll continue playing."
          "I can't," she says. "I can't keep holding on. Every night it becomes more difficult. And I...I have to let you win."

         The Night Circus Competition becomes more than just a test of knowledge and ability.  It truly takes the characters into a whirlwind of emotion and struggle as they handle the pressures of surviving the competition. That is what makes the Night Circus such an emotional roller coaster for the reader too.

                        https://www.etsy.com/listing/185302258/the-night-circus-on-book-quotes-print

Characters in the Night Circus- Marco Alisdair

          Marco Alisdair is another one of my favorite characters in The Night Circus. One of Marco's key personality traits is his charm: whether it was his natural charm or whether he was taught to be charming, Marco is also shown to win over many of the people that he meets. This is one of the biggest reasons why I find his character interesting. Marco is clever but also kind and is very affectionate towards Celia and their relationship.  The author did a good job of making Marco's character a mystery that unfolded slowly throughout the novel. I think that by making Marco so intriguing, the author was able to pull readers into the story and the relationships within the story. Marco provided a great deal of excitement and mystery with his skill throughout all of the events happening in the novel.

Characters in The Night Circus- Celia Bowen

          Celia Bowen is one of my favorite characters in The Night Circus.  She is enchanting and interesting at the same time. Celia is shown to have an extremely resilient personality, yet it is known from an early age that she can be short tempered and impulsive. For example, when she was six years old she accidentally broke a teacup with magic after her father talked bad about her mother. Despite her short temper, she is kind and is always thinking of others.  After reading The Night Circus, I feel like I can relate to the kindness of Celia.  Celia is also very strong and has a lot of self-control. That is something that she worked on her whole life. In that way, Celia is someone to look up to because of how much of a hard worker she is.  She is also very independent, which helps her to stand up for her herself to her father and others throughout the book. Celia was a intriguing main character and the author did a good job of developing Celia's character throughout the entire story.

http://night-circus.tumblr.com/

Symbols in the Night Circus- Herr Friedrick Thiessen's death

          Herr Friedrick Thiessen is a curious character throughout the novel.  I found that one of the biggest symbols associated with him was his death.

          The novel says," And so the knife brushes by his sleeve, and comes to rest instead in the chest of the man he is speaking with.  The blade sliding through his unbuttoned black coat easily, hitting his heart as through it had always been its intended target, the silver handle jutting out just beneath his crimson scarf.

          Mr. A-H-- catches Herr Friedrick Thiessen as he slumps forward."

          After contemplating the death of his character, I think that his death symbolizes the end of time. Or more simply- when time is up for certain characters.  Herr Friedrick Thiessen is the mysterious clock master throughout the story that builds a close connection with the circus and its mysteries.  His death symbolizes when time is up for Celia and Marco to stop playing games.  From that point on in the novel, the competition becomes more fierce and personal then ever. So much emotion is involved in his death that from that point on, the story only becomes more emotional and intense as Celia and Marco strive to keep their relationship alive while surviving the brutalities of the competition. Herr Friedrick Thiessen's death was a turning point for the characters and the story line.

Foreshadowing in The Night Circus- The Wishing Tree

          As I was reading The Night Circus, I noticed a section of the book that foreshadowed a larger part in the end.

          The novel says, "Marco replays in his mind his first encounter with the Wishing Tree. A mixture of annoyance and amazement and wistfulness that seems different in retrospect.  He was uncertain he would even be able to light his own candle, his own wish, wondering if it was somehow against the rules."
"Do all of those wishes come true?", he asks.
"I'm not sure," Celia says. "I've not been able to follow up with every person who has wished on it. Have you?"
"Perhaps."
"Did your wish come true?"
"I am not entirely certain yet."
"You shall have to let me know," Celia says.  "I hope it does.  I suppose in a way, I made the Wishing Tree for you."  (pg. 289)

          This simple little encounter is alluding to a later scene in which Marco reveals his wish.

          Page 482 says, "I made a wish on this tree years ago," Marco says, as through he knows what Bailey is thinking.
"What did you wish for?" Bailey asks, hoping it is not too forward a question, but Marco does not answer."
Instead, he folds the glowing ring into his palm, and then offers his hand to Bailey.
Bailey hesitantly reaches out, expecting his fingers to pass through Marco's hand as easily as they did before.
But instead they stop, and Marco's hand in his is almost solid.  Marco leans forward and whispers into Bailey's ear.
"I wished for her," he says."

          The authors use of foreshadowing made the earlier scene more meaningful. When you go back and look at the point Marco and Celia's relationship was at, you can feel the curiosity and confusion Marco might have felt, wondering if his wish might every come true.  As you reach that ending event, where Marco reveals his wish for Celia, you can connect the two situations together.  The author uses the Wishing Tree and the beginning of their relationship and at the end to give the tree a somewhat emotional effect.  The Wishing Tree is the authors way of bringing all the emotions involved in a making a wish, into the story.  She creatively intertwines them into the love story and by using the wish to foreshadow at the beginning, she leaves the reader in suspense and curiosity throughout the novel.

Themes in The Night Circus- Love

         Perhaps the most obvious theme in The Night Circus is love. All of the chaos of the circus is intertwined within a love story that drives characters to do things that they wouldn't normally do. The love between Marco and Celia is unquestionably one of the most beautiful and heart-wrenching things about the book.  Their love for each other is what drives the story line.

          The novel reads, "There are so many things she wants to say, things she feared she would never have the opportunity to tell him again. Only one seems truly important.
          "I love you", she says. The words echo throughout the tent, softly rustling the frozen leaves. Marco only stares at her as she approaches, thinking her a dream.
          "I thought I'd lost you," she says when she reaches him, her voice a tremulous whisper. She seems to be as substantial as he is, not transparent like the garden.  She appears rich and vibrant against a background of white, a bright flush in her cheeks, her dark eyes brimming with tears.
          He brings his hand to her face, petrified that his fingers will pass through her as easily as they had with the rose.  The relief when she is solid and warm and alive to his touch is overwhelming. He pulls her into his arms, his tears falling onto her hair.
          "I love you," he says when he finds his voice." (pg. 468-469)


          While this love stands as such an important part of the book, another form of love is underway.  The love that the characters develop for the circus.
          The novels says, " I cannot let a place that is so important to so many people fade away.  Something that is a wonder and comfort and a mystery all together that they have nowhere else. If you had that, wouldn't you want it keep it?" (pg. 419)
          Nearly all of the characters in the book, develop a strange form of love and curiosity for Le Cirque des Reves.

Characters in The Night Circus- The Murray Twins

          The Murray twins are simple characters, yet there is something special about them at the same time. One of the most important things to note while reading the story was the timing of their birth. 

          The book says, "Six minutes before midnight, Winston Aidan Murray is born.  Seven minutes after midnight, his sister, Penelope Aislin Murray follows..."

          "Close to dawn, when the circus is emptying, they are taken for a walk around the tents and into the courtyard.  The purpose is ostensibly to lull them to sleep, but they stay awake, watching the lights and the costumes and the stripes on the tents around them, strangely alert for being only a few hours old." (pg. 122-123)

          The timing in which the twins are born is an important part of the story because the circus is born with them.  They are the only children born inside of the circus throughout the whole book.  They are also born on opening night.  This is remarkable because it stands as the beginning of the connection between them and the circus.  They would grow up to take the place of the circus owners and they would end up ultimately running the circus together.  The Murray twins were born with the circus and they grew up just as the circus grew up. Their birth on opening night was a symbol of their obligation to the circus world.  

Symbols in The Night Circus- The Clock

          One of the biggest symbols that is repeatedly used in The Night Circus, is the clock. The clock is seen inside of the circus and is very intricate and special.

          The novel says, "The finished clock is resplendent.  At first glance it is simply a clock, a rather large black clock with a white face and a silver pendulum.  Well, crafted, obviously, with intricately carved woodwork edges and a perfectly painted face, but just a clock.
          But that is before it is wound.  Before it begins to tick, the pendulum swinging steadily and evenly.  Then, then it becomes something else." (pg. 88)

          The clock in this case is used to represent the fact that everything has to be timed perfectly. The author goes on to describe to all of the magical things that happen to the clock as time passes.  Time is constantly discussed in the book. The timing has to be just right in order for the circus to open at dusk and midnight dinners only take place at exactly midnight. The timing has to be just right for the competition to take place between the young wizards.  Timing is literally everything. By putting so much emphasis on the intricate clock, the author makes it very clear that the timing of everything in the book is especially important.

http://thesearchingeyes.deviantart.com/art/Night-Circus-The-Clock-338089027

Themes in The Night Circus- Abstraction

          A common theme that seems to be prevalent in The Night Circus is Abstraction. Many a times there are sections of the book in which characters are drawn towards forces that they can't identify. One of which is magic.  As Celia preforms her "illusionist tricks" for others they are drawn to her above all others. A sense of curiosity is developed.  As I have read this novel, I have seen how the abstract ideas are all wrapped into the idea of a circus. The idea of a circus and all that it involves is already an unusual thing. But the author has taken that theme of abstraction and implemented into all different stories throughout the book.  For example, in the chapter titled, The Hanged Man, it talks about the abstractions found as you walk through the circus.

          The book says, "In this tent, suspended high above you there are people. Acrobats, trapeze artists, aerialists. Illuminated by dozens of round glowing lamps hanging from the top of the tent like planets or stars.
          There are no nets.
          You watch the performance from this precarious vantage point, directly below the performers with nothing in between.
          There are girls in feathered costumes who spin at various heights, suspended by ribbons that they can manipulate.  Marionettes that control their own strings." (pg. 134-135)
       
          This excerpt from the novel gives a glimpse to strange and mysterious environment of the circus. With the theme of the circus throughout the book, the author really uses this idea of abstraction to connect all the things happening in the book.

Symbols in The Night Circus- The Ring

          After reading the first few chapters of the novel, I have noticed a symbol within the story line. In the chapter titled, A Gentlemen's Wager, young Celia is introduced to "the man in the gray suit". After  much discussion, an agreement is reached to enter Celia into a competition that will test her magical abilities. In order to bind Celia to this contract a ring is placed on her finger.

          The book says, "Celia immediately puts out her hand, palm up, unsure of what to expect.  But the man in the grey suit does not place anything in her open palm. Instead, he turns her hand over and removes a silver ring from his pinkie. He slides it onto her ring finger, though it is too loose for her slim fingers, keeping his other hand around her wrist. 

          She is opening her mouth to state the obvious fact that the ring, though very pretty, does not fit, when she realizes that it is shrinking on her hand.  

          Her momentary glee at the adjustment is crushed by the pain that follows as the ring continues to close around her finger, the metal burning into her skin.  She tries to pull away but the man in the grey suit keeps his hand firmly around her wrist.  

          The ring thins and fades, leaving only a bright red scar around Celia's finger." (pg. 20-21)

        The symbol to be identified here is the ring.  Rings are often used to symbolize obligation and a binding between things.  In this case Celia is being bound to a competition of magic. But in a more realistic sense, rings are most often used to bind people through marriage. They express an obligation that a person may have to someone or something.  In ancient times, rings were passed down through leaders to symbolize power and family connections. I think that by using a ring to bind Celia to the competition it shows a permanent decision being made that will have lasting impacts on her.