The Night Circus By Erin Morgenstern

Peyton Honorowski

K. Borchers

ENGL 1030

25 April 2023

The Art of Being a Lady

“What am I bound to?” the boy asks.

“An obligation you already had, and a person you will not meet for some time” (Morgenstern 35).

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, published in 2011, is a story that begins in the month of February, 1873 in New York. Both being considered the greatest magicians of their time, Hector Bowen, and Alexander, place a wager on Hector’s newfound daughter, Celia, and an apprentice of Alexander’s choosing, Marco. These two children are bound to each other and fated to fight to the death in a lifelong competition to prove which magician is indefinitely the best in the world. When they are grown, the two end up working for the same circus

Not too long after their introduction to each other, Celia begins learning how to create magic just as her father does. Although, when Celia auditions to be the Illusionist for “Le Cirque des Rêves'' many years later, as she is in the waiting room, the other male illusionists around her consider her to be nothing more than an assistant and do not ponder on the idea that she could possibly be in this place for the same reason the rest of them are, as history and research has proven that people consider woman to be in smaller positions when they are pretty (Young 2017). These men do not believe that Celia has what it takes to be the master of misdirection for the circus as they should be simply because it is believed that Celia is not good enough because she is a pretty woman (Morgenstern 91). Furthermore, when Celia enters the room for her audition, the sole proprietor of the circus, Chandresh Lefevre, questions Celia’s motives just the same, stating, “We are auditioning illusionists, my dear girl. Magicians, conjurers, etcetera. No need for lovely assistants at this time.” This comment from Chandresh proves his ignorance toward Celia as a woman, and it is only when Celia announces who her father is that Chandresh lets her audition. Although, directly after his statement, Celia proceeds to prove her skills through turning her own coat into a raven.

During the entirety of the “Associates and Conspirators” chapter, the readers are introduced to three women, Tara and Lainie Burgess as well as Mdm. Padva. The Burgess sisters become in charge of every minute detail included in the circus, from the music played during the entire spectacle to the quality of the curtains for the tents. Without the two of them, the circus would be a wasteland of uncomfortable disorganization. And Mdm. Padva, or Tante Padva as she is affectionately referred to throughout the novel, is put in charge of the costume designs, which seems as though would be unnecessary, Mdm. Padva’s designs constituted the uniform and proved to the circus-goers precisely how uniquely bizarre and spectacular the circus is. Without Mdm. Padva, the circus would not be seen as any more distinctive than the simplest of work