African Queen: The Real Life of the Hottentot Venus pages 82-118

Summary:
On December 29, 1815, Saartjie died at the 7 Cour des Fontaines. It is believed that Saartjie died because she was over worked, an alcoholic and she had loss hope in everything she used to believe in. Saartjie used to believe that she was important because of how her father and Solkar treated her but when Dunlop and Rèaux began mistreating Saartjie all of her hope disappeared. The thing that probly had to do the most with Saartjie’s death is because towards the end of her life she not only continued to work all though she was terribly ill, Rèaux began pimping her to the upper class men who wanted to have a sexual experience with the “HOTTENTOT VENUS”. Saartjie had become a prostitute and had nothing left in her life to be proud of. Rèaux also realized that Saartjie was losing her worth and her thought that she would be worth the same amount dead or alive and he began making arrangements with the scientist at the Museum of Natural History. Once Saartjie died her body was delivered to the Museum in which a letter was sent to the mayor declaring her death and another was sent to the Comte Angles asking for permission to have Saartjie’s body. At the time it was against the law to keep a person who had died with out permission from the government.

Less than 24 hours later and without the solemnizing of any rights, Saartjie was in the hands of scientists at the Museum of Natural History. Saartjie was bisected and all her organs were removed and molded for further research. Saartjie’s brain was also removed and all her organs were placed in a glass jar until thirty eight years later when Pierre Gratiolet studied what he had found. In order to preserves the organs in the best manner, flagons of distilled alchol and potassium hydroxide were placed inside. The tortoiseshell necklace that Saartjie never removed was taken off of her and placed else where, symbolically taking away any rights to her body that she had left.

Although it took Saartjie three months to get to Europe, it took her two centuries to return to her homeland. In 1194, Nelson Mandela declared Saartjie a heroic ancestor and declared that the new state’s commitment to honoring her and made the first international attempt to reclaim her. In 1995, Saartjie finally returned home and was giving a proper burial. Saartjie Baartman was and will always be the “HOTTENTOT VENUS”. Although she died centuries ago, she still is that same hero she was when she was 26 and she will always be a hero for not only women of all ethnic groups but for everyone who may work in a profession in which they are judged constantly on their appearance.


Quotation:
“It is good to know that people are starting to make claims of their heritage. That is something we must be proud of. This is our grandmother. This is the nation’s grandmother.(Holmes 107)

Reflection:
I believe this quote is true because Saartjie Baartman is like my grandmother and I wasn’t born until the year she returned home. Saartjie allowed women and men to accept their “flaws” and make them work for them. Saartjie opened the door for people of different ethnic backgrounds to work in the lime light. Although Saartjie did so much for “freaks” she ended living a horrible life. She lost everyone she loved and she was forced to work basically nude. She wasn’t allowed basically any free time and she even works sick. To help accommodate the pain and loneliness she felt inside, Saartjie look at liquor for comfort. The women that allowed people such as I to feel comfortable in their own body was taken for granted and was forced into an addiction that helped lead to her death.

Many famous people of color also have been put into the same situation as Saartjie. For instance Michael Jackson was forced at a young age to make sure his performance was tight, clean, and always mesmerizing. He also was over worked and would receive beatings if his performance did not meet expectations. Like Saartjie, Michael Jackson also sang and dance and his body type was sometimes perceived as freaky because he was tiny, his skin color had changed dramatically over a short period of time and he had plastic surgery done to his face. To accommodate his loneliness, fatigue, and emotional and physical pain, Michael Jackson looks for drugs. Drugs were Michael’s best friend and it brought him through the toughest times just like Saartjie look for alcohol to bring her through her toughest times. I feel like Saartjie allows people to see the good aspect of becoming famous and the horrible aspect of becoming famous.