Angels and Demons

There have been multiple and extensive allusions to the Bible in Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus. They were introduced in the very beginning when Fevvers if often compared to an angel, good and bad. There have also been many allusions to the story of Jesus made by Buffo the clown. In chapter four of "Petersburg" Buffo is continually compared to Jesus from his placement in the middle of the table to his and the other clown's roles in the social structure. The entire scene in the boarding house with Walser and the other clowns is very much like the scene of the Last Supper, which is directly reference in the start of the chapter. The first descriptions of him on page 116 draw him as wearing his insides out and he is seven feet tall. These descriptions are obviously absurd, but when paired with a comparison to Jesus the reader is willing the suspend their disbelief. Buffo is a clown with a lot of charisma and while he is explaining to Walser throughout chapter four about the purpose and truth about being a clown the group around him are described as being completely enthralled with everything he was saying. This to me seems to resemble the Apostles of Jesus Christ, those who truly believed his lessons and spread the word.