The Magician's Elephant

Doors are a prominent symbol in The Magician’s Elephant. In Peter and Adele’s dreams, doors are opened, showing them the past and the possibility of a different future, respectively. The elephant door, in contrast, is grand and new and firmly locked. The magician is also locked behind his cell door, and Madam LaVaughn relies on her staff to answer the door and regulate her visitors. Doors represent both restriction and transition.

The countess Quintet’s elephant door seems to tell visitors “You stay out there [...]. And what is inside here will stay inside here” (75). Her door imprisons the elephant and blocks access to the people of Baltese. Her control reveals the countess’s selfish and obstructive nature. Although the orphanage door is never locked, it is still a barrier to Adele, keeping her safe but also keeping her from finding her true home. Closed doors represent separation from true belonging.

Doors open, however, when Peter, acting with faith, knocks—physically and figuratively. When Peter “knocks” or asks for help from those who are behind closed doors—like Leo Matienne in his apartment, the magician in his cell, Madam LaVaughn and