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Week 7: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (#6 points)

 


    There is an image that comes to mind when you think of 'circus.' Pierrot with a lot of makeup on his face, performers doing a risky performance on the trapeze, people spinning many plates at a time, a breathtaking show with animals, etc. Inside the large tent where the circus is performed, shows a world of fantasy that is different from the outside world. And there is also magic that makes people think outside the box, such as a person suddenly disappearing in a box, a body split magic, and the objects come from the hat seamlessly. These kinds of performances become more and more splendid to surpass the expectation of viewers that increases as time passes. 


    Le Cirque des Reves, the dream circus that opens at sunset and closes at dawn is the main background of this story. The lights that announce the opening of the illusionary circus begin to flash. And the entrance of the circus is opened, the world of fantasy and dream greets us. A special circus is held in each tent, and those looking for a circus can enter the tent that they want and enjoy the fantastic shows. This circus is a stage invented by Prospero and the man in the gray suit for the confrontation between their pupils. The two characters in the confrontation are Prospero's daughter Celia, and Marco, whom the man in a gray suit trained. Broken objects are restored to their original state, and painful wounds healed again, the colors of the clothes changed, the shape of the faces changed, two characters show fantastic magic. Attacking each other and defending it, the circus becomes gradually more sophisticated and dramatic, turning into a dreamy place filled with attractive scenes. 


    They did not know who each other's opponent was in the beginning, but they found out that they were competing with each other. They fell in love, and then the circus entered a new phase. There was a rule that they could end the confrontation if one of the two dies, so they try to find a way to be together. They make sacrifices for each other, but in the end they choose their way to confirm their love of each other in their own spaces in ways we cannot think of. 


    The theme of magical circus and the intertwining relationships between the different characters are attractive, but I think the thing that captures the readers is the way of depicting the scene. Erin Morgenstern describes the marvelous and magical scenes happening inside the circus tent in sophisticated sentences so that the readers feel that magical world more vividly. I wish if this story could be turned into a film, it is gonna be a great movie with a lot of magical moments. 

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