Poetry · Chapter
Crab-Angel explained
A poetic description of a circus dwarf performer, dubbed 'Crab-Angel,' who rides a horse in a grotesque and ambiguous display of gender and form, ultimately exiting the ring with a wave.
What happens
A poetic description of a circus dwarf performer, dubbed 'Crab-Angel,' who rides a horse in a grotesque and ambiguous display of gender and form, ultimately exiting the ring with a wave.
Themes in this chapter
Sexuality and Gender
The dwarf's ambiguous gender is highlighted through comparisons like 'Helen of Lilliput?' and 'Hercules in a powder puff?' and the phrase 'minnikin of masquerade sex.'
The Body and Mortality
The dwarf's body is described as a 'squat body' with 'pygmy arms' and 'bow legs,' and the performance ends with a 'subsides like an ironic sigh,' suggesting mortality.
Characters to notice
- Cesira
Implied as the dwarf performer described as 'Crab-Angel' in the circus scene.
Key passages
“Crab-Angel I christen you minnikin of masquerade sex Helen of Lilliput? Hercules in a powder puff?”
I name you Crab-Angel, tiny creature of disguised gender—are you a miniature Helen of Troy or a muscleman in a fluffy costume?
Highlights the theme of gender ambiguity and the dwarf's theatrical disguise.
“The dwarf— subsides like an ironic sigh to the soft earth and ploughs his bow-legged way laboriously towards the exit waving a yellow farewell with his perruque”
The dwarf collapses to the ground like a sarcastic breath, then trudges awkwardly out of the ring, waving a yellow wig in goodbye.
Emphasizes the dwarf's physical struggle and the end of the performance.