THEATRE AND CIRCUS AS BACKGROUND FOR MAGICAL REALISM IN ANGELA CARTER’S NOVELS

Abstract

The paper analyzes how Angela Carter uses the environments of theatre and circus as a pretext for magical realism manifestations in her novels Nights at the Circus and Wise Children. In the first instance, we established connections between circus and theatre and the illusion of magic for the audience, showing how Carter is inspired in creating her characters by the enchantment world and magic present in Shakespeare’s world and later by the clown representation in Chaplin’s acts in movies. The characters who populate the discussed novels either deal with illusory entertainment and magic of the theatre stage, to mask an ambiguous lineage, as in Wise Children, or assume a non-human feature allowing them an identity to be further speculated in the world of circus, as in Nights at the Circus. Both environments are a pretext and an instrument for Carter’s introduction of magic acts in realistic environments, leaving readers questioning the thin line between the sensual and ordinary worlds.

Keywords

• magical realism
• angela carter
• theatre
• circus
• entertainment