Venus

The Negro Resurrectionist reads from the Baron Docteur’s notebook. The notes describe how the Venus is showing signs of aging, including sagging breasts, but her buttocks and genitals are still remarkable. The Baron Docteur arrives and takes the notebook from the Negro Resurrectionist. After a pause, the Negro Resurrectionist announces the next scene title.

The Baron Docteur gives the Venus a haircut. He tells her to wear a yellow dress that night, and she asks if they are going out or having company. The Baron Docteur says they will have dinner, just the two of them, and the Venus complains that they are always alone—when they go out, it is in a closed coach, and the only other people she sees are at the Academy, which she says does not count. The Venus asks the Baron Docteur to love her, and he responds “Mmm,” telling her he has work to do. She guides his hand to her stomach, and he suspects she has a stomachache from eating chocolates. The Venus insists he feel her stomach more, and the Baron Docteur realizes she is pregnant. He panics, thinking of his career and marriage, but the Venus says pregnancy is something to celebrate in her country. The Baron Docteur insists on an abortion, and the Venus leaves after agreeing.

The Grade-School Chum appears, telling the Baron Docteur that they knew each other at school, where the Grade-School Chum ripped wings off flies, but the Baron Docteur does not recognize him. The Grade-School Chum tells the Baron Docteur that he needs to end his relationship with the Venus, noting the damage the relationship has done to his marriage and career. The Baron Docteur is confident his findings, when published, will restore his reputation, and the Grade-School Chum tells him to dissect the Venus soon. The Baron Docteur reads some unflattering notes from his notebook, and the Grade-School Chum yells at the Baron Docteur to kick the Venus out. The Baron Docteur says he loves the Venus.

Only the Negro Resurrectionist watches the performance. The Uncle brings the Bride-To-Be, disguised as the Venus, to the Young Man. The Young Man exclaims that she is odd, and he asks her if she is Love. She does not respond, and the Uncle explains that she does not speak English. The Bride-To-Be makes clicking and clucking sounds to the Uncle, which he translates to mean that she is Love. The Young Man asks if she is wild. The Uncle and the Bride-to-Be click more, and the Uncle translates. The Uncle says she is wild, from a hot country, and she will make him happy forever. The Young Man circles her, and the Negro Resurrectionist reads from the autopsy report of the Venus. The report includes the Venus’s height, weight, and a note about the size of her buttocks.

The Venus daydreams alone about how the Baron Docteur loves her, adding that he is not good in bed but has a lot of money. She fantasizes about running a household, wearing wigs, and drawing the attention of high society. The Baron Docteur enters unseen, and the Venus pretends to order enslaved servants. Seeing the Baron Docteur, the Venus invites him to bed, and she tells him she does not want to go to the academy anymore. He rejects the idea, and the Venus says the Anatomists touch her when he is not looking. He says that is their job, and the Venus worries that the Baron Docteur will leave her. The Venus reveals that she is pregnant again, saying she does not feel well and complaining about the heat. The Baron Docteur insists on another abortion. The Venus asks what maceration is, and the Baron Docteur lies, saying it means lunch. The two fall asleep, and the Baron Docteur wakes up to the Grade-School Chum, as though he is in a dream.

The Grade-School Chum acts like he is performing a physical check-up on the Baron Docteur, and the Baron Docteur says the Venus would be a good wife. The Grade-School Chum notes the issues with the Baron Docteur’s marriage, questioning the feather the Baron Docteur wears around his neck. The Grade-School Chum warns the Baron Docteur that a German man is about to publish the autopsy he performed on his own Hottentot. The Baron Docteur reveals that the Venus may have a sexually transmitted infection, which he thinks makes his work with her “Indecent somehow.” The Grade-School Chum says they can get the Venus arrested for indecency, but the Baron Docteur wants to find another solution. The Grade-School Chum insists, bringing the Baron Docteur away, while the Baron Docteur thinks fondly about the Venus.

The Venus wakes up alone, and she complains about the heat. The Chorus of Spectators arrives, staring at the Venus lustfully, and then they break into a riot. They chain the Venus “like a dog” (145), and the Negro Resurrectionist calls for order. The Grade-School Chum demands the Venus be arrested for indecency, but the Baron Docteur is unsure.

The Chorus of Spectators applauds as the Baron Docteur reads from his notebook. The Baron Docteur’s notes describe the size and shape of the Venus’s buttocks. The Venus is chained nearby, and the Negro Resurrectionist watches. The Venus asks the Negro Resurrectionist if they have ever loved or been loved, and the Negro Resurrectionist responds that they have not. The Negro Resurrectionist gives the Venus chocolates, saying they are from a doctor who claimed he knew her once. The Baron Docteur elaborates on the appearance and formation of the Venus’s internal and external sex organs, dwelling on her labia minora, which he claimed were long and thin, extending as far as her spine when stretched behind her body. The Baron Docteur says the labia minora form the central focus of his study, and he recommends future research on them. The Baron Docteur thanks the audience, holds his notebook, and hangs his head.

The Negro Resurrectionist watches over the Venus as she sleeps, and the Grade-School Chum approaches. The Grade-School Chum claims to recognize the Negro Resurrectionist as a former grave robber who illegally provided corpses for scientific study. The Negro Resurrectionist denies it, and the Grade-School Chum offers to pay for access to the Venus’s body after she dies, adding that he is asking for a friend. The Negro Resurrectionist rejects this request, but the Grade-School Chum threatens to have the Negro Resurrectionist arrested. The Negro Resurrectionist acquiesces, saying the Venus is not specifically important to them and calling the Grade-School Chum a “bastard.” The Grade-School Chum gives the Negro Resurrectionist a coin in advance, which the Negro Resurrectionist reluctantly takes.

The Baron Docteur and the Venus watch the performance, each standing in different places. The Young Man professes his love for the Bride-To-Be, who is still disguised as the Venus. The Uncle translates, and the Young Man promises to love her forever if she will do the same. She promises constancy, but she says she will change over time as skin dies and regrows daily. The Bride-To-Be removes her disguise, the Young Man gives her chocolates, and the Baron Docteur applauds.

The planets align, and the Venus explains the history of chocolate. The gods gave people the cacao tree to teach them love, and, as time passed, the Aztec word for chocolate, cacao, became chocolates and cocoa. The Spanish loved chocolate, and the church campaigned against it as a heathen product, associating it with dark magic. Chocolate’s popularity increased, and doctors noticed that it had a positive emotional effect, especially among women. Women would eat chocolate to recover from or prepare for emotionally intense situations. It became the custom to bring chocolates when confessing one’s love. Chocolate was once valued for nutrition and stimulation, but it is now seen as a source of pleasure.

The Venus is chained, and the Negro Resurrectionist stands guard. She asks the Negro Resurrectionist about his gold coin, and they respond defensively that they found it. The Negro Resurrectionist explains their former job of digging up corpses, noting that it is illegal and working in the jail is safer. The Venus says she misses her home, telling the Negro Resurrectionist that she grew up on the coast, came to England for money, fell in love, learned some French, and got a sexually transmitted infection from the doctor. She tells the Negro Resurrectionist not to look at her, then she dies. The Negro Resurrectionist repeats the information that the Venus Hottentot was exhibited in England with an appearance that defied European standards of beauty but was prized in her home country. She came to England in 1810, three years after the abolition of the slave trade, and she died in Paris five years later. A cast of her body and her skeleton were displayed at the Musée de l’Homme.

The Negro Resurrectionist announces the Venus’s death, shocking everyone. The Venus tells them to miss her, the Grade-School Chum says exposure killed her, the Negro Resurrectionist says it rained for 23 days, and the Baron Docteur thinks alcohol killed her. The Venus and the Grade-School Chum say there will not be any show, and everyone demands their money back. The Chorus of the 8 Human Wonders tells everyone to cover their eyes and look away. The Venus says there must be an end to her tale, that she was sinful, and her soul is in heaven while her body stays on display in a museum. The Venus ends the play saying “Kiss me” three times.