The Night Circus Lesson Plan

What is the real reason Tsukiko is unwilling to give up the circus? How did her challenge make her feel this way?

Tsukiko loved her opponent. She says that, in a challenge like this, your opponent becomes how you define your life and who you are: without them, you’re still a person, but not a complete one. Losing her opponent was horribly painful—the so-called victory was painful. Tsukiko cares about the circus because she generally seems to care about its people, but, more importantly, she says that Marco and Celia’s tents were like love letters she’s lived among for years. The tents remind her what it was like to be with her opponent, and she’s not ready to give that...