Venus

Venus is a biographical play about Saartjie Baartman, a member of a freak show label called the Hottentot Venus, by Suzan-Lori Parks. Set around 1810, it concerns Baartman’s origins as a member of the Khoi-San people of South Africa and her move to Paris and London where she was exhibited for her extremely large buttocks. Her “act,” in which she was exposed to voyeuristic members of the European public, became an enduring and problematic source of caricature of women of African descent, especially during the Victorian era. The drama touches little on the historical context of Venus’ life, capturing instead the strange social conditions that made her life and exploitation possible. It tracks Venus from her departure from South Africa to her early death in Paris, exploring especially her romantic relationship to her sponsor, Baron Docteur. The play exposes the racial stereotypes and clichés that characterized the Victorian era and parodies the concept of the sideshow carnival that capitalizes on exoticism, questioning whether Baartman had agency over her life path.

The play introduces Sarah, or “Saartjie,” Bartman. Even among her people in South Africa, she stood out for her almost impossibly large buttocks, a symptom stemming from the condition Steatopygia. She lives during the peak of the colonialist era when exploitation and cruelty are actively and unashamedly practiced. The racial violence extends into the entertainment scene: Venus’s circus freak show is one of Britain’s most popular attractions. The play provides vignettes of some other people who were subjected to the freak show, including conjoined twins and bearded ladies, who were transformed into exhibits.

Initially, Sarah is coerced into leaving her South African hometown for London by a member of the circus committee, who promises her that fame and wealth await her. These promises quickly turn out to be meaningless when Sarah arrives in London. There, she is sold at auction to a sideshow owner called The Mother Showman. He exhibits Sarah, giving her the name “The Hottentot Venus,” in reference to her curves, which resemble the ancient Greek statue of Venus De Milo. Venus becomes the face of the circus, seeing herself in advertisements all over Europe. Thousands of Europeans flock to the outrageous displays of her body.



While working for The Mother Showman, Venus makes a fan named Baron Docteur. He develops an unhealthy obsession with her and eventually buys her from her owner. Given her circumstances, she agrees to become his mistress, and travels to Paris, initially believing that he truly cares for her. Her beliefs crumble when she realizes that he is an incorrigible womanizer with countless sexual partners. She is ignorant of the fact that Baron Docteur intends to use her as the object of a scientific study after her death. He hopes that his research will give insight into steatopygia, but never informs her or obtains any form of consent.

At the end of the play, Sarah is infected with gonorrhea transmitted from Baron Docteur. Humiliated and angry, he arranges for her to languish in jail until she dies. She does not last long in jail, tragically dying in the cell. After her death, the Baron Docteur takes a plaster cast of her body and extracts her skeleton. They go on display at the Musee de l’Homme, becoming the consummate symbol of the exploitation of black bodies for white people’s profit.