He is initially introduced to us an equal to Melchior, Dora and Nora’s biological father, as Dora claims they were “both our fathers”. Although he is Melchior’s brother, Peregrine is described “more than an uncle” as he is the only true father Dora and Nora have ever known, and the only “one who would publicly acknowledge” them “even when Melchior would not”. This leads onto an ‘inversion of hierarchies,’ a typical characteristic of the carnivalesque, as Carter reflects Perry’s superior relationship with Dora and Nora’s over Melchiors’ by juxtaposing their character through contrasting language and information when describing each. For example, we learn of Melchiors ‘legitimate’ family, the Hazards, and how they rejected Dora and Nora at the same time as we learn Peregrine “behave so much more fatherly…not to mention paying most of the bills.” This is perfectly portrayed at Melchiors party as his house burns down with Nora still inside and Melchior Hazard caring only for his precious “cardboard crown” which he claims meant “more than wealth, or fame, or women, or children” as Perry exits the house in a completely surreal moment like a phoenix out of the fire, very much like when he “spread his wings” to comfort Dora and Nora at the beginning of the novel, miraculously with Nora in his arms. By comparing the ‘paternal’ relationships in this way, Carter is not only looking at the legitimate versus the illegitimate, she is also shifting perspectives from past to present, which she does effectively through Dora’s polyphonic narration, and as the histories of the two families unravel, we learn of complete unconventional behaviour which turns the world upside down, undermining marriage. For example, the fathering of wrong children, even more so two sets of twins. All of these qualities are typical carnivalesque characteristics, which break out of the realist modes of story telling.
However, this matter of twins is a recurring theme proving to form the central plot which, on several occasions, breaks into the novels many realms of fantasy. The ‘double faced’ Hazard/Chance family initially appears to be the perfect divide between popular culture and high culture, illegitimate and legitimate and upper class and working class. However, as Dora’s tale unfolds these clear divides prove to be lies, false within her own family and according to Lorna Sage, proving how “badly they fit into the complexity and hybridity of British society and culture.” We have Melchior and Peregrine, fraternal twins, “sons of the marriage of Estella and Ranulph Hazard.” Their children are the two sets of identical twins Saskia and Imogen Hazard; “legally daughters of Melchior Hazard, biologically daughters of Peregrine Hazard and Lady Atalanta,” and Nora and Dora Chance; “the illegitimate daughters of Melchior Hazard, but officially known as the daughters of Peregrine” and more importantly the only living ‘Chances’. There are then the twins Tristam and Gareth Hazard, fraternal sons of Melchior Hazard’s third marriage. Even these twins have been lied to, believing the Chance twins are their aunts, not sisters. This bizarre family tree undoubtedly breaks into the carnivalesque, displaying unconventional behaviour, the undermining of marriage, the turning of the world upside down and the celebration of the marginalised and subordinate; as we the audience warm to the chances and their illegitimate family.
As I have shown there are many parallels that Carter presents with the twins which run through generations of both the legitimate and illegitimate sides of the twisted family structure of both the Chances and the Hazards, one of the most prominent being the reversal of biological parents between Nora and Dora, and Saskia and Imogen. The carnivalesque is clearly evident as the parallels’ running between all the sets of twins is like placing a mirror down the middle of the family tree. However these are not so apparent to those involved as the truth has been distorted with so many lies, imbedding themselves into the families so much so the only ways to tell who truly belongs to the ‘legit’ side is through the shocking red hair which Peregrine has passed down through the gene pool.
Throughout the novel Carter compares and contrasts Nora and Dora, however we only see these through Dora’s eyes, never fully sure of how Nora perceives the differences between her and her sister, one being “fluxy” and spendthrift, and the other being “constipated” and restrained. However, the ending takes a surprising turn for the twins as they are presented with their own set of identical twins, ironically presented magically out of Peregrines hand, Nora soon realising the parallel the children have with them, that despite what they are told about their birth, ‘they’ll make a romance out of it.’ The penultimate ending of the Chances walking down Bard Road with their baby twins, one female and male, can be perceived to bring a positive end, taking away gender as a basis for “differentiation from the individuation process.” Although this episode is moving into the realms of fantasy, a dream of Nora’s, like Dora said ‘the carnival has to end’, and I truly believe this imagery of the two sets of twins going down past number 41, with a Rastafarian poking his head out of what was their window shouting “Drunk in charge of a baby carriage, at your age” brings full circle all of the carnivalesque qualities of Dora’s narrative, the issues such as the ‘acknowledgement of the body and its cycles of birth, aging and death,’ which we have become so accustomed to, that it is no longer carnivalesque.
Thus we can see that Carter most certainly breaks out of the realist modes of story telling into the realms of fantasy at several points throughout the novel, so much so that ultimately the reader actually becomes so at ease with Angela Carters bawdy, carnivalesque and outrageous story that it slowly becomes realism.