The Night Circus Readalong: Week 3

Tension is rising in the circus as Celia and Marco grow closer, but everything else threatens to fall apart. Can the two opponents come together and end the game in their favour, or will their magic spill out of control? We’re racing to the end here in week 3 of our readalong of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. This week the questions were put together by Athena at One Reading Nurse, and there will be spoilers ahead! Let’s get to it!

So we have seen Marco and Celia grow up learning and using two very different styles of magic. Now we have seen that Marco has, well, what boils down to like an anchor and amplifier while Celia is holding it all together with her own will. Have you changed your mind on who is stronger? Who’s style & flavor of magic do you prefer?

I think they hold different strengths… Celia obviously has a very strong will and had to learn a lot of tricks to survive in her father’s care and out in the world, whereas Marco had the leisure to study and experiment without worrying about his safety, so he can afford to be methodical and plan every bit of magic. I think he probably has more stamina, for lack of a better word, and I do worry that the strain of the circus will affect Celia soon. I think I’d love to see one of Celia’s shows, but I’m torn about Marco’s magic… it’s really interesting to read about, and it’s lovely that he can create such beautiful things, but the visual and mental manipulations he employs are quite creepy and I wouldn’t like to be the subject of his attention.

We have seen everything from illusions, multiple magic displays, yummy food, and so much more from the circus. What would your ideal evening look like so far if you could attend? What tent or food are you bee-lining for?

Oh definitely the food! I’d grab a hot drink first, then probably stand by the bonfire for a long time – I love fire, the bigger the better. As I said, I’d like to see Celia’s show, and maybe the acrobats, but then I’d just wander around. I’d go to the Stargazer, because anything with a name like that is right up my street, and then try and find that room full of jars that Bailey stumbled into. I don’t think I’d like to see the fortune teller or the contortionist, but I might spend some time watching some of the living sculptures and probably try out the carousel.

We are now seeing that Marco has his magical threads woven into pretty much everything and everyone in the circus. He seems to me to be a rather dark character as in influencing people’s sanity and clearly causing Chandresh to lose his marbles. Do you have any thoughts on this? Is Celia also to blame since she seems (so far) less hands-on with destroying people than AH and Marco?

I feel for Chandresh! And I do wonder if he’ll do anything more or if his attempt at attacking A.H. was what Prospero intended for him. It sometimes feels like Marco cares about his employer at the same time as affecting his mind, but then other times it seems he’s just using him. It’s very eerie. I also find it so interesting that he shows everyone but Celia a different face. As for Celia, I don’t know if she holds as much blame so far, but she is aware of what’s happening at all times and knows that their game affects the whole circus so I don’t know… 

 I always thought The Night Circus was a young adult novel, but as the years go on and the characters tear each other’s clothes off after only 1.5 kisses, it’s clearly an adult novel. On that note, do you think Celia’s feelings are genuine or do you think she’s playing Marco for an advantage?

On the one hand it does feel like a very sudden rush to sex, but on the other Marco and Celia have basically been courting one another for years through their magic, even before they knew one another. I think there’s been a lot of pining and angst building up, mixed in with the frustration of not fully understanding their situation and the strain of keeping their competition (mostly) secret. It does feel natural that they would end up there, and I hadn’t actually considered that one or the other might be playing this for an advantage because when we see their points of view it seems their each besotted, but it very well could be! I do wonder why Celia took Marco’s book, and what will come of that when he realises… 

Lastly…. I think we are finally about to learn what the game is. After Mr A H said the last one lasted for 30- something years, what is your best guess now as far as how a winner is going to be declared? With the rest of the book catching up to Bailey’s timeline, do you think he’s going to play into it – Or was Isobel breaking the scales the penultimate straw?

I do hope we get some more clarity. And 30 years is a long time, much longer than Prospero and A.H. should have been around if they were normal people… I suspect that while Celia’s father is mortal but has been able to extend his live through magic, Alexander is something else entirely. Maybe he also started as human, but I feel like he’s something more ancient, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been around for centuries, just adapting to the times and quietly influencing things for his benefit. I’d like to know more about him! We know from Bailey’s timeline that the circus is still running almost as normal then, but it does feel like things are coming to a head based on Poppet’s visions. 

And speaking of Bailey, I had a moment of real heartbreak when he arrived at the field to find it empty! I don’t believe it’s the end of his journey with the circus, but I don’t see how he’ll catch up? Will he use the Rêveur and their network of information to find it again? I do feel like he’ll have a role to play, otherwise there wouldn’t be as much point to his chapters… 

I also feel so much for Isobel. I started out not really liking her, but she’s been through a lot and she is so caring! To have gotten herself involved in the circus for Marco in the first place, only for him to discard her and leave her stuck in the middle of his game is such a bad time. I am both eager and afraid of what will happen next. Having read The Starless Sea I feel like the ending can’t be all that terrible, because I don’t think that’s the type of story Morgenstern writes, but I do think there will be a bit more tragedy along the way before a possible happy ending. 

Back to the book to find out!