carnivalesque definition
carnivalesque. , which means ‘a farewell to flesh’ in Latin, “describe the ways in which some writers use their works as an outlet for the spirit of the carnival, of popular festivity, and misrule’ It is generally regarded as a ‘politicized form of writing” (Robbins, 127) because all the generally accepted norms, class distinctions, the assumptions of the dominant style are subverted and liberated, and this is done through humour and chaos. All the socio-hierarchical barriers are eliminated, the most unlikely people are drawn together, familiar interaction among people of all classes are procured, the strict rules regarding piety and respect for the commonly-accepted notions of the sacred are discarded, and the last but not the least, one can observe the de-crowning of a carnival king. The term ‘carnival’, itself, brings with it the idea of the ‘culture of laughter’. So, through the use of this idea of the ‘carnival’, Carter gives the reader a sarcastic as well as a humorous panorama of her society, and the world in general, and she uses Kearney’s circus as the basis for this very purpose.