A-level English/Wise Children/Bakhtin's Theory

Bakhtin was a Russian Scholar whose work was centered on the idea of Carnivalesque. Carnivalesque, relating to the carnival is a theme in literature with aspects of chaos and disarray, of social hierarchies being reversed, of celebration and of the worshipping of bodily functions. However, the main aspect of the carnivalesque was the idea of the 'cycle of life'. Bahktin created an image of an old hag, near death but about to give birth. Even though she is near to the end of her life, she is bringing new life into the world. In Wise Children, this idea of the old hag is played upon by Carter, exploring the idea that Dora and Nora are the old hags, who are given new life in the form of two new twin babies by Perry.