Nights at the Circus | Themes

Nights at the Circus Themes

This is a complex, multifaceted story, told with humor, hyperbole, and biting irony. Thinking critically about the assumptions on which our lives are based, taking real and figurative journeys of self-discovery, questioning patriarchal values and notions of commodification, and determining who defines identity are just a few of its themes.

Nights at the Circus is divided into three geographically delineated parts: London, Petersburg, and Siberia, through which the main characters travel together and individually. The narrative progression away from the familiar (Britain) toward increasingly exotic locales also moves the reader ever deeper into the world of magic. Throughout this journey, the novel mercilessly teases its readership, undermining our expectations while challenging and subverting any number of conventions, by parodying the genres of Romance, Myth, and so on.

The magical realist dimension is often at least partially Utopian, an unreal fantasy whereby a subversive political message can...
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