Love, Desire & Seduction
First of all, there is
the allure of the circus. The idea of running away from everything you know to discover
new people, places and things. The circus is seductive because it brings to
attention many things that people find interesting, for example, freaks and
animals. The dark side is alluring to everyone, making the secrets and illusions
within the circus a perfect setting for seduction. There are many relationships
in the novel that fall under these themes. Within the first few pages, there is
already an example. The relationship between Catherine (a classmate) and Jacob
Jankowski is entirely desire. Jacob wants one thing from her, and she refuses
to give him that one desire, as she figures their relationship post-coital will
not be successful. He then falls in love with Marlena the moment he sees her,
“She looks so much like Catherine I catch my breath – the plane of her face,
the cut of her hair, the slim thighs I’ve always imagined were under
Catherine’s staid skirts.” (pg. 50) In Marlena, he sees the woman he has
desired for years, yet it is a different relationship where he respects her.
However, the relationship between Marlena and Jacob is fairly complicated.
Marlena is married to another man, the equestrian director of the show. His
name is August and the relationship he has with his wife is controlling and
outrageous. He is mentally unstable; a paranoid schizophrenic. (pg. 340) There
is yet another relationship based on desire in Water for Elephants. Jacob desires Barbara, a prostitute on the
show. This isn’t a complex relationship and is very short-lived. Barbara and a
fellow prostitute attempt to take Jacob’s virginity while he is completely
drunk, and he ends up vomiting on them while they do so. This quickly ends
their relationship. Uncle Al also has an unhealthy love of money. He will do
anything for money, including killing show horses to keep tigers fed, in order
to save him money. There are many examples of love within this novel; so many
that they cannot all be covered, without reading it.
Deception, Illusions, Secrets &
Lies
The circus is all about
illusions and deception. As August explains to Jacob;
“You already know that
Marlena’s not Romanian royalty. And Lucinda? Nowhere near eight hundred and
eighty-five pounds. Four hundred, tops. And do you really think Frank Otto got
tattooed by angry headhunters in Borneo? Hell no. He used to be a stake driver
on the Flying Squadron. He worked on that ink for nine years. And you want to
know what Uncle Al did when the hippo died? He swapped out her water for
formaldehyde and kept on showing her. For two weeks we traveled with a pickled
hippo. The whole thing’s an illusion, Jacob, and there’s nothing wrong with
that. It’s what people want from us. It’s what they expect.” (pg. 134)
The entirety of the
circus is based on lies that are fed to the people. August explains that
although they market the famous “fat lady” to be 885 pounds, she is a mere 400.
He also explains that they lie when it comes to backstories as well; they claim
that their “tattooed man” got his tattoos way differently than how he actually
did. People on the circus believe that the deception of it all is acceptable
because it is to be expected; it has always been that way. The character August
himself is also deceptive. He starts out being charming and affectionate and
turns out to be an abusive and overall angry person. Marlena says,
“He’s…mercurial. He’s capable of being the most charming man on Earth.” (pg.
123) He is amazing at deceiving people into thinking he is a worthy person. For
example, when he wooed Marlena when she was 17 and he was 12 years older than
her. He made it seem like he was the greatest, most charming, nicest guy she
could have, and then a month into marriage seemed to turn into a control freak
that had an abusive, angry side. There are many secrets in the novel, as well.
The relationship between Marlena and Jacob is major secret, because if anyone
finds out, Jacob will likely be killed and Marlena will be beat by her husband!
There is also a secret/underground prostitution business within the circus that
runs behind the scenes. Another secret that is kept in this story is how August
ends up dying. The protagonist knows his entire life just who kills the man,
but never tells a soul (until the end of the novel where he tells Charlie
O’Brien, a manager at the circus in town). The lies, secrecy and deception
generally lead to another theme of competition and envy.
Competition & Envy
Uncle Al is always
competing with every other circus in business. He must always have the best
“freaks” and the best performers. He is a vulture; he hears that a circus is
about to fall apart, and he is there to pick up jobless performers and workers
as well as any freaks to add to his collection. For example, he takes his
entire circus on a three day trek in order to pick apart what was left of the
Fox Bros. circus when it collapsed. The reason? “They employed the world-famous
Charles Mansfield-Livingston, a handsome, dapper man with a parasitic twin
growing out of his chest…It looks like an infant with its head buried in his
ribcage.” (pg. 99) Jacob is incredibly envious of August. August is married to
the woman he loves, making her the most unattainable woman on the show. There
is also jealousy from August because his wife also ends up falling in love with
Jacob. This also enrages him, to the point where he becomes unbelievably
abusive. The theme of anger is carried throughout the novel.
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