Venus

Content Warning: This section contains descriptions of racism, enslavement, sexual coercion and assault, as well as racist language and outdated terminology for race and gender.

The Girl, known as the Venus through most of the play, is Saartjie Baartman’s character in the text. Initially, she is a servant for the Man and the Brother, who suggest bringing her to England, promising her wealth and opulence. The Girl’s character is defined by moments like the offer of a “mint,” as Parks imbues the Girl with agency, displaying a desire for wealth. As the Girl becomes the Venus and becomes increasingly tormented by the Mother-Showman, her character retains an attitude of entitlement, demanding money from the Mother-Showman and openly acknowledging her status as the star of the Mother-Showman’s exhibition. This personality of confident autonomy is often called a “diva” persona, in which the Venus acts with an assured awareness of her importance to the ongoing events.

The Venus’s role in the play is two-fold, as she is not a conventional protagonist in the text. Instead, the play centers on the Venus, who is both the main character of the play and the re-imagining of Saartjie Baartman. Parks intentionally fleshes out elements of Baartman’s life in the character of the Venus that depart from conventional methods of recording and understanding history.