Written within Parks' Venus is another play called, "For the Love of the Venus". This is an adaptation of a French vaudeville called The Hottentot Venus, or The Hatred of French Women, written in 1814.[2]
Act I, scene 3 (scene 29 in Venus)
[The Baron Docteur is the audience, and the Venus watches him]
The Bride-to-Be waits on the Young Man, who appears uninterested in her offerings and bored by her presence. He begins reading from a notebook about his fathers reflections on travelling to Africa. The Bride-to-Be cries out in sorrow of being unloved.
Act II, scene 10 (scene 23 in Venus)
[The Baron Docteur is the audience, and the Venus watches him]
The Father, the Uncle, and the Young Man discuss the Young Man's desire to love "something Wild"[12] before he marries the Bride-to-Be. The three men conspire to obtain The Hottentot Venus for the Young Man when her show arrives in their town. The Uncle promises to present his nephew with a Thing to love in two weeks time.
Act II, scene 12 (scene 11 in Venus)
[The Baron Docteur and Venus are absent, so the Negro Resurrectionist becomes the audience, but appears inattentive]
The Bride-to-Be is in dismay over the Young Man's love for The Hottentot Venus. She discloses this information to the Mother (of the Young Man), who makes a plan to work with the Uncle on dressing up the Bride-to-Be in the guise of The Hottentot Venus.
Act III, scene 9 (scene 8 in Venus)
[The Negro Resurrectionist is the audience]
The Uncle presents the Young Man to The Hottentot Venus, who is actually an impersonation by the Bride-to-Be. The Hottentot Venus tells the Uncle–through a series of clucking–that she is Wild, and the Young Man proceeds to stare at her. The two share a silent moment.
While the characters stand motionless, the Negro Resurrectionist reads an excerpt from the Baron Docteur's autopsy notes on the Venus.
Conclusion (scene 4 in Venus)
[The Baron Docteur and the Venus watch the play separately]
The Young Man and The Hottentot Venus continue to stare at each another, and the Young Man has fallen in love. The Hottentot Venus is assured by the Young Man that her core self is what he loves, so the Bride-to-Be removes her disguise, and is offered a box of chocolates from the Young Man. The two lovers stand motionless until the curtain are drawn closed.
