Water for Elephants

Marlena is the dazzling star and prized performer of the Benzini Brothers circus. She is first a wife to August and later becomes Jacob’s wife of 61 years and the mother to his five children. For much of the narrative, Marlena is a flat character. Except when bedecked in pink sequins, commanding her fleet of horses in the hippodrome, Marlena appears weak and superficial. Once the narrative reveals the truth about her marriage—that August is an abusive partner—Marlena’s weakness makes sense. Placating August’s volatile temperament and enduring his contempt has crushed her spirit. As a woman, she’s expected to repress her emotions and be a comfort to her husband. When Rosie the elephant becomes a part of the circus, Marlena must quickly learn a new show act, but the elephant’s arrival sparks a new level of cruelty in August toward Marlena. Her relationship with Jacob presents a way out of her abusive marriage, but Marlena must summon the courage to stand up to August and claim agency over her life.

As one of just a few females in the cast of characters, Marlena shares some traits with the other women but also provides some contrasts. All the women in the show, including the female elephant Rosie, are exploited for the use of their bodies. Barbara and Nell command the “cooch tent,” and though they willingly offer their bodies for profit, they’re still objectified, oversexualized, and systematically dehumanized. The circus also profits from Lucinda’s body, though in a different way, as Al hustles a profit from people ogling and mocking her larger frame. Even Rosie’s body is mistreated for the sake of improving the circus’s bottom line. Although Marlena is at the top of the circus pecking order, she endures mistreatment by both August and Al. Her first disastrous performance with Rosie leaves her battered in body and spirit. When Jacob shows her respect, it’s the first time she’s valued for her humanity and not just what she can offer physically: “There’s nothing and no one who could hold a candle to Marlena” (66). Jacob’s love empowers her to leave August and start a new life free of the rule of domineering men.

August, the head animal trainer of the Benzini Brothers circus, is Marlena’s husband. The novel’s prologue opens with August’s brutal murder, leaving the question open through the entire narrative about how events came to such a violent climax. Jacob is at first charmed by August, who invites him into the inner circle of the circus performers and lands him the job of circus veterinarian. By allowing Jacob access to their life, August seals his fate, as Jacob quickly falls for Marlena, bringing an end to their marriage. Once on the inside, Jacob realizes that August’s charismatic personality conceals an unpredictable personality prone to rage and violence. Although mental health conditions were not widely understood at that time, Uncle Al labels August as “a paragon schnitzophonic” (265). Ironically, the circus, a well-known place for society’s outcasts to find a home, is a suitable place for him to land. Individuals who struggled with mental health conditions had few options in the 1930s, and people like August were usually committed to psychiatric hospitals and were often abused. Unfortunately, without proper medical care and oversight, August’s condition becomes dangerous to himself and those around him, and his life ends in tragedy.

August serves as a ruthless overseer for Uncle Al. Because the circus runs on thin financial margins, August is forced to make decisions regarding the care and feeding of the animals—decisions that appear barbaric to an outsider. However, August is only operating from the same sense of self-preservation as every other individual in the circus. If he doesn’t keep the big money-maker animals alive, he could face the same fate as lesser-ranked workers violently thrown from the train in a practice called “red-lighting.” Eventually, August unravels under the pressure of Al’s rule combined with the loss of Marlena. Fittingly, Rosie—not Jacob—delivers justice on behalf of all who have endured August’s brutality. However, Jacob is the only person who knows the tragic truth, and the image of August’s death haunts him for decades.

Uncle Al, leader of the Benzini Brothers Circus, embodies the stereotypical circus persona: “He has ringmaster written all over him, from the scarlet coat and white jodhpurs to the top hat and waxed curled mustache” (52). However, much like his carefully curated show, Al’s jovial facade is an illusion, as his colorful ringmaster motley conceals a sinister subterfuge of autocratic power, abuse, and opportunistic greed. As the country’s biggest circuses go bankrupt in the wake of the Great Depression, Uncle Al helps himself to their remains. The Benzini Brothers circus, a production birthed from the misfortune of others, is marked by brutality toward both humans and animals, and Al’s destructive obsession with fame and fortune fuels this brutality. The narrative describes Al as, “a buzzard, a vulture, an eater of carrion” (77). Al exploits the lack of jobs available by forcing his employees to endure inhumane working and living conditions without fear of mutiny. He capitalizes on their desperation and holds them under the tyranny of the dreaded “red-lighting,” which brings an abrupt end to one’s circus career—and, often, one’s life—by being thrown from the train. Although August is antagonistic in every way, Uncle Al is the narrative’s true villain.