The Magic of Morals

          In Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern complex moral issues were presented in an entertaining and somewhat subliminal way. With the aspect time travel and the two worlds of fantasy and reality, the novel presents an action packed narrative. Black and white, night and day, good and evil are the backdrop to show our choices. The name of the circus is Circus des Reves, Circus of Dreams. The name not only refers to the magical world presented in the circus but foreshadows the path the young characters will take to achieve their individual dreams. In a way, the novel instructs young adults to follow their passion to make the most of their futures.

But one of the most important lessons of Night Circus is that no matter how small your actions; what you do affects others. Night Circus revolves around the manipulation and ego of two competitive magicians. Prospero and the man in the grey suit, A.H., pick protégées to enter into a magical contest, where only one will remain alive. They not only trained but tortured the young students, Marco and Celia, both physically and mentally. The amoral treatment of their students is evident. Nevertheless, as young adults, Celia and Marco became better human beings than their “fathers”.

Although the narrative is centered on the two men’s rivalry, it is a coming of age story. Not only do the two manipulated teens rise about their plight, but other young characters in the book follow their dreams. It was planned that either Celia or Marco would be eliminated. Nevertheless, these fierce competitors found each other’s talents impressive and ultimately fell in love. They found that their actions affected the other circus performers as well as the “reveurs”.  They had to come up with a plan that would save the circus. They sacrificed their human form for others. With these characters we see a stark contrast between their selflessness and the selfishness of the magicians.

The story of Baily also reveals it is important to fight for what you want. Initially, we see Baily taking a dare to fit in with his sister and her gang. He snuck into the circus to be a part of a social group. He took a chance and it worked out. The young man continued to be drawn to the circus despite his parent’s objections. His path becomes interwoven with the circus performers. Ultimately, he runs the Cirque des Reves with Poppet. His dream as well as a romance was achieved.

          As the young characters face the trials of growing up, they do not give up despite all the obstacles thrown in their way. Just like the circus, complications in your live will arrive without warning! 

Anti-Christ with a Thousand Faces

For the hero’s journey, I read Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Both authors are known to apply aspects of Campbell’s monomyth and its structural pattern. However, Gaiman said that he started reading The Hero with a Thousand Faces but refused to finish it: "I think I got about half way through The Hero with a Thousand Faces and found myself thinking if this is true – I don’t want to know. I really would rather not know this stuff. I’d rather do it because it’s true and because I accidentally wind up creating something that falls into this pattern than be told what the pattern is."  

Nevertheless there is evidence of some elements of the monomyth. Furthermore, I think there are two overlapping journeys, the demon and the angel’s journey and Adam, the Anti-Christ’s journey. Both journeys converge to stop the Apocalypse. Adding to the mythological aspect of the journey is the prophesy of Agnes Nutter which outlines every event that will take place.

Azirophale (angel) and Crowley (demon) meet in for the first time in the Garden of Eden. Crowley is the snake that temps Adam and Eve to eat the apple. Azirophale is an angel from the Garden. Over thousands of years, they have reached a compromise, a type of friendship. They are called to action at the birth of the Anti-Christ. After getting drunk and deciding to go against their bosses, they decide to work together to stop Armageddon.  Of course, there are supernatural elements involved as they enter the world of a normal family as gardener and nanny. There are many comical elements as they wait for the coming of the demon dog who is to watch over the devil’s child. The biggest ordeal is when they find out that they are watching the wrong child and attempt to find him. Crowley hears the voice of his boss in his Best of Queen calling him to make sure that he is working to secure the end of the Earth. Both refuse to give up the fight and find the Anti-Christ, Adam.  Their search is thwarted by many obstacles. However, together they find Adam and attempt to lead him away from the destruction of the universe. Adam with the help of his crew stop Armageddon because Adam realizes that starting over is futile.

The duality of Adam is evident from the beginning of the story. His innocence as a baby and his Adonis features are contrary to a satanic form. However, he cannot deny his leadership and his attractions to the dark side. He is called to a journey of fulfilling the destiny set out by his father, Satan. His path is full of temptations on both sides, good and evil. He meets the witch, who introduces him to the magical side of his powers. The Them join with him to fight the Four Horses of the Apocalypse. They defeat all but Death who cannot accomplish the end of the earth alone. Adam realizes the strength of his powers and is even able to turn Satan into his earth father.

At the end of the journey, everything comes full circle. No one remembers or they pretend not to remember what has occurred. Adam has repaired the damage from the battle. The angel and demon are lunching at the Ritz. And Adam, he is grabbing the forbidden apple from the tree.

Bitchin' Witches

With Black Maria, the reader gets lulled into a kind of Twilight Zone as nothing is as it seems. The death of the father on his way to see Aunt Maria seems to foreshadow their plight when they are stuck in her world. Aunt Maria is at the forefront from the beginning revealing a matriarchal society. She is a manipulative woman guilting Chris, Mig and Mum into doing her bidding. Initially she is a stereotype of an old woman using age and feebleness as her tool. It is very quickly we know that everything is not as it seems. The appearance of the ghost early on, the cat on the windowsill and Aunt Maria’s house address as Number 13 add to the clues of the evil that will surface.

Gender lines are also evident from the beginning when Mig is not good enough to watch Aunt Marie. Additionally, Mum is to work alone with no help from Chris because it is “woman’s work”. Further, Mig and Mum were not allowed to wear “trousers”. However, the stereotypical role of woman is changed with her role in the control or “Queen Bee” of the village. The men are mindless zombies following the woman’s every command, kind of an inverse Stepford Wives or maybe Stepford Husbands. Black Maria adds a touch of The War of the Roses as the war between men and women gets heated. This adversarial theme seems to center around control and equality. It is specifically outlined in the conversation between Mig and her father (not dead). Mig says, “….. Can’t they just be people?” Dad responds, “It doesn’t seem possible where men and women are concerned.” Nevertheless the lines of gender seemed to be blurred as the judo Mr. Phillips is also the gardener and cook of his household. The gender lines in the 90s when the novel was written was expanding. At that time, my mother, a lawyer, was not allowed to wear pants in court at that time. Additionally, a woman who was aggressive in business was called a “Bitch” compared to her male counterpart was accepted in his role. In any event, a woman or man that would destroy (turn into a wolf) her/his daughter to keep control remains evil on any level.

When it comes to witches, Aunt Marie was an archetype because she was not a typical witch. She was a superior witch, outside the lines of a pure stereotype. Although she had magical powers, her evil extended past sorcery to mind altering. Also, Ms. Phelps was archetypical because she time traveled.  It was not just about magic but control.

            Another point that adds intrigue is that Mig is narrator. She writes the novel in a smart, unique way. Mig is the savoir in contrast to the sweet Aunt Marie as the villain.

The Weird and The Weird

Both The City and The City and the movie Dead Man represent a genre where subliminal messages are rampant and directed to stimulate their audiences. Weird suggests something supernatural, unconventional or uncanny. Nevertheless, it is in the eye of the beholder because to me, very little is uncanny about the book and the movie. It is significant in this day of helicopter moms and Sesame Street kids that the audience’s attention be grabbed and held. Audiences are attracted only to the “weird” or the different to entertain them. Normalcy is status quo and boring. Each work reveals an attempt to escape a traditional life. Weird can accomplish something stimulating to their intelligence.  Each work eschewed the traditional narrative to create the weird. Nothing is what it seems.

What is weird about The City and the City by Mielville? The book itself is wordy but engaging. They are speaking English but each character has its own language. Maybe the weird is  because it evolves around string theory and the fact that multiple cities can coexist in the same time continuum.  Two cities co-exist in the same physical space at the same time and the detective must solve a brutal murder that is committed in one or perhaps on the border. Each city knows the other exists but cannot admit it.  A common phrase in the movie is that I must “unsee that”. Additionally, the use of “Breach” and the consequences of it add to the mystery of the novel.

Dead Man is similar to The City and the City because it revolves around borders. In Dead Man, Johnny Depp’s character is walking around in a dying state due to the bullet wound close to his heart. He has murdered another and being sought by his victim’s father. He is on the border between the living and the dead. The movie is a metaphor for the 60’s counter culture in a spaghetti western style. Johnny Depp’s character is on a spiritual journey somewhat like Jim Morrison’s journey in the desert. There is a language border within the Indian culture and also a weird play on words with the names of the characters, I.E. the Indian called Nobody that attempts to remove the bullet. Ultimately, Blake loses his battle and dies in Indian funeral dress and canoe.