Venus

The Baron Docteur tries to buy the Venus from the Mother-Showman. The Mother-Showman explains that the Venus is wild and would not be a good servant. The Baron Docteur refuses to say why he wants to buy the Venus, criticizing the Mother-Showman for kicking the Venus and noting how the crowds to see the Venus are getting smaller. The Mother-Showman acquiesces and demands a huge sum of money. The Baron Docteur agrees, and the Mother-Showman says she will retire. She asks the Baron Docteur what he will do with the Venus, and he says he is not sure, but he might teach her French. The Mother-Showman says the Venus was her favorite child.

The Baron Docteur visits the Venus, and he tells her he is her biggest fan and a doctor. The Venus understands, and he gives her chocolates, which she likes. He examines her and remarks on how extraordinary she is, asking if she wants to go to Paris. The Venus does not know Paris, but the Baron Docteur offers to teach her French, provide a clean room, and allow her to socialize with his associates. The Venus demands weekly payment for new clothes, good meals, and her own room. The Baron Docteur says the Venus will have to sleep with him, and he waits for the Venus to decide. The Mother-Showman rattles a stick against the Venus’s cage, complaining about her need for money. She tells the Venus that it is time to start the show, noting that the smell of the spectators’ breath is almost as bad as the smell of the Venus’s waste in her cage. The Venus says “Yes” six times, each time increasing in volume, as the Mother-Showman continues to talk, and the Baron Docteur takes the Venus out of her cage, announcing their departure for Paris.

Stage notes indicate that Scene 16 occurs during intermission, with the lights up in the theater, the Baron Docteur reading at a podium, and the Bride-To-Be sitting and reading love letters. The Baron Docteur reads from his notes on the autopsy of the Venus, describing her physical features, including skin tone, measurements, and descriptions of her hair, limbs, and genitals. Periodically, the Baron Docteur’s reading is interrupted by the Bride-To-Be reading the poetry sent to her by the Young Man. In the poetry, the Young Man calls his love for the Bride-To-Be “artificial” and enduring. The Young Man’s poem says his love cannot compare to various flowers, because his love stretches back from his heart through all time. The Baron Docteur presents specific details of the connections of muscles, tendons, and bones in the Venus’s body, including comparisons to what is “usual,” notes about other doctors’ discoveries, and comparisons to primates. The Baron Docteur claims that the Venus’s native language consisted of clicks and explosives. The scene ends with the Baron Docteur losing his place in his notes while musing about the grace and charm of the Venus’s body, adding that none of her characteristics were significantly abnormal.

The second part of the intermission is labeled Historical Extract: Musical: The Song of Jack Higgenbottom (98). The 7th Human Wonder sings Jack’s song, in which Jack claims to have brought the Venus to Peru, joined the priesthood, and turned the Venus white. Jack hopes this atones for the prior criticisms the Venus’s act received, and he ends his song with a play on “at the bottom” (98), meaning both most sincerely and referring to the Venus’s buttocks.

The Negro Resurrectionist counts down from 31 to 14, ending by saying “Scene 14” after a pause.

The Baron Docteur and the Venus lie in bed together, and the Baron Docteur counts down from 14 in French. The Baron Docteur moves to turn on a light, but the Venus stops him. The Baron Docteur cannot see the Venus, and he asks her to lie next to him. The Venus asks periodically throughout the scene if the Baron Docteur loves her, to which he responds either “I do” or “Yes.” The Baron Docteur quotes the Young Man’s poem to the Bride-To-Be and claims he wrote it himself. The Baron Docteur fantasizes about becoming famous, noting how many anatomists there are and adding how he is jealous of the Venus for drawing a crowd without effort. The Baron Docteur notes how the Venus’s laugh is strange, and he tells her not to laugh at him. He comments that great minds are usually credited with a discovery, like Columbus, and he gives the Venus some chocolates, some of which have erotic names that the Venus lists.

The Baron Docteur says the Venus cannot stay here, noting that he has a wife, but the Venus does not want to go home. The Venus asks what the Baron Docteur is doing, and he says nothing, directing the Venus to look away and keep eating chocolates. He instructs the Venus to touch herself, and he masturbates with his back facing the Venus. After he has an orgasm, the Venus asks why he did that, and he responds that he is “polite.” The Venus asks if the Baron Docteur loves her more than his wife, and he says he does, adding that he and his wife have no children. The Venus gives the Baron Docteur a feather to wear as a good luck charm, and she directs him to kiss her all over her body, commenting that he “could discover” her. The Baron Docteur says he loves the Venus, and the Venus turns off the light.

The Negro Resurrectionist reads aloud from the Baron Docteur’s notebook a physical description of the Venus Hottentot. The description includes details about the Venus’s hair and skin color, the shape of her eyes and face, and frequent comparisons to the appearance and movement of monkeys. The notebook says she spoke fluent low Dutch and some English, and the Baron Docteur tried to teach her French. She danced and played an instrument called a jaw harp, referred to in the text as a “Jew’s harp.” The notes promise a greater description of “the wonder” of the Venus’s genitals later. The notes conclude by asserting that the Venus willingly submitted to examination by her own physician.

The Venus is alone in a beautiful dress, and the Chorus of the 8 Anatomists comes into the room one at a time, beginning their work. The Baron Docteur enters after them, wearing the feather amulet the Venus gave him. The Anatomists say things in English, and the Venus translates them to French, impressing the Anatomists. One Anatomist says their theories about the inferiority of Black people must be wrong, but the Baron Docteur states the Venus might be an exception to those theories. The Grade-School Chum enters, gives the Baron Docteur a letter, and leaves. The Baron Docteur begins ordering the Anatomists to sketch the Venus’s body, telling the Venus to relax because they are all doctors. The Baron Docteur reads the letter aloud, in which the Grade-School Chum criticizes the Baron Docteur for maintaining a sexual relationship with the Venus, noting that one year of such a relationship should be enough to satisfy the Baron Docteur. The Grade-School Chum calls this relationship a disgrace to his profession and to the Baron Docteur’s wife. The Baron Docteur dismisses the letter, speculating that the Grade-School Chum is an imposter.

The Venus asks the Baron Docteur to love her, and he tells her he does and that she is lovely. The Baron Docteur tells the Anatomists to measure various parts of the Venus’s body, yelling out one measurement at a time. The Grade-School Chum enters, gives the Baron Docteur another letter, then joins the Anatomists in measuring the Venus. The Baron Docteur reads the new letter quietly, in which the Grade-School Chum says it has been a year since his first letter. He is impressed that the Baron Docteur has maintained a relationship with the Venus without failing in his duties as a doctor and husband, but he insists that everyone can “smell” the “Hottentot-amour” on him. The Baron Docteur gets lost in thought, and the Anatomists look at the Venus, turn their backs to her, and masturbate. The Grade-School Chum asks if the limb measurements will be corrected after maceration, and the Venus asks what maceration is. The Negro Resurrectionist presents Footnote #8, a definition of maceration as the process of removing flesh from bones to obtain a more accurate measurement. The Baron Docteur tells the Anatomists they are finished for the day, instructing them to applaud for the Venus. The Negro Resurrectionist announces the next scene title.