Vénus Noire: Black Women and Colonial Fantasies in Nineteenth-Century France

Race in the Atlantic World, 1700–1900

by Robin Mitchell

Even though there were relatively few people of color in postrevolutionary France, images of and discussions about black women in particular appeared repeatedly in a variety of French cultural sectors and social milieus. In Vénus Noire, Robin Mitchell shows how these literary and visual depictions of black women helped to shape the country’s postrevolutionary national identity, particularly in response to the trauma of the French defeat in the Haitian Revolution.Vénus Noire explores the ramifications of this defeat in examining visual and literary representations of three black women who achieved fame in the years that followed. Sarah Baartmann, popularly known as the Hottentot Venus, represented distorted memories of Haiti in the French imagination, and Mitchell shows how her display, treatment, and representation embodied residual anger harbored by the French. Ourika, a young Senegalese girl brought to live in France by the Maréchal Prince de Beauvau, inspired plays, poems, and clothing and jewelry fads, and Mitchell examines how the French appropriated black female identity through these representations while at the same time perpetuating stereotypes of the hypersexual black woman. Finally, Mitchell shows how demonization of Jeanne Duval, longtime lover of the poet Charles Baudelaire, expressed France’s need to rid itself of black bodies even as images and discourses about these bodies proliferated. The stories of these women, carefully contextualized by Mitchell and put into dialogue with one another, reveal a blind spot about race in French national identity that persists in the postcolonial present.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Race, France, Read For School, Feminism, Art

210 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Robin^Mitchell (DO NOT MERGE WITH OTHER AUTHORS OF THE SAME NAME)

Robin Mitchell is an Assistant Professor of History at the California State University Channel Islands (CI). She received her master’s degree in Late Modern European History from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and her doctorate in Late Modern European History from the University of California, Berkeley, with a Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality. Her dissertation investigated the correlation between representations of black women in France and the aftermath of the Haitian Revolution.

In addition to numerous published journal articles, Professor Mitchell’s first book, entitled VÉNUS NOIRE: Black Women & Colonial Fantasies in 19th-Century France will be published with University of Georgia Press in 2020.

Before joining the CI faculty in 2016, Professor Mitchell was a full-time faculty member at DePaul University in Chicago.

Reviews

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mitchell has achieved a marvelous work of history that places representations of black women at the heart of 19th Century French history. It's a must read and I can't wait for my students to read it.

[guinevere · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only qualm is that the book wasn’t longer. It felt unfinished, like there was more that needed to be said. Besides this, I loved it. I really, really did.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. Focuses on racial tension and creation in France after the loss of Haiti through to the 1840s.


It was not quite what I thought it would be but it's well written and you can feel the pain and anger Mitchell has for the mistreatment of these three women and their lives to aid in the reaffirmation of white supremacy

I would easily recommend this to any historian.

[texasroadhouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

also read this one for a class, definitely biased review:

the concept and execution were also very solid. The writing was more novel-like, so this is a great read for people unfamiliar with 19th century French history or for those who dislike dense history books. For those who are averse to "agenda-setting", this book is definitely not for you, but it's difficult to escape any kind of "agenda" in history books because "agenda" is another way to say "analysis". The thematic grouping by person was super effective, and the book benefited heavily from the introduction. Mitchell's emotional experience with Baartmann's body cast had me in tears. However, the book contains relatively surface level analysis, and the epilogue contained rapid allusions to people that left me wanting more. It's a side effect of its digestibility and length, but I would have loved to see more intricate, deep analysis on more black women in French history!

[JC Sevart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really a 4.5. I liked a lot about this book: I loved the passion for these three Black women in 19th century France Mitchell has and her very heavy research to make sure their stories are told more fairly than they have been; I liked that she used these women's stories as a microcosm for the lives of Black/African women in France writ large; and I liked the connection to the general national feelings of the French and their recent loss of Haiti as a colonial holding.

As do most people I wish there was 'more' to this book. Mostly I wish there were more explicit and fleshed connections to the lives of Black women in France in the early to mid 1800s

[Epiphanie Bloom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uncompromising in its expose of a deeply white supremacist time and place, Robin Mitchell's book helped me understand French culture anew. It's written in a style both academic and accessible. Despite being distraught by some of the representations of black women, I read this book relatively quickly. Taking a deep look at the French context of misogynoir has also helped me understand its implications for other places in Europe, the US, and beyond.

[Katie Singer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really interesting connection between early French identity, Black women and the Haitian Revolution. It focuses on three Black women of the time as representatives of the ways French people were wrestling with newfound political situations and identity. The only reason I don't give 5 stars is that it *is* an academic book, so not all will enjoy the read the way they might a different writing style. That said, I found it clear and accessible.

[Loren Easterday Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! I must read more from this author! I’ve never read a piece of scholarship so spot on and fresh and important. Mitchell captures the issue of the black female body as it is represented (and often erased) in French culture (19th cent. and beyond). All of my colleagues MUST read this book. Vénus Noire should be required reading for all French departments.

[Teddy Barker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good for an assigned textbook reading. The differences in the lives of Ourika, Sarah Baartman, and Jeanne Duval were vast; one a pet, one a caged creature, one an independent woman in a tumultuous love affair. The racism all three faced in life, and the effects of their lives on French society long after their deaths, was strong. Overall would definitely recommend if one wanted to learn more in depth about France’s past obsession with black women

[Fox R · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent publication on the struggle of the Black female body. Not only a new piece of historical research in an already scarce field, but a piece of research so thorough and authentic you cannot help but enjoy the read.

[Mills College Library]

305.8896 M6824 2020

[hh · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Natalie Treybal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic. Only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars was I wished it were a bit longer- I felt myself wanting more, but what is here is amazing

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're going to read any book about 19th century conceptions womanhood please let it be this one!!!

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and incredibly.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book- it’s a case study if 3 Black female ‘muses’ and their mistreatment by men and white culture, I knew a little about this as a concept but reading each individual case, with the emotive and evocative writing style, was just so deeply eye opening. A must read for any feminist and race historian. We need more voices like Mitchell and we need to continue to bring attention to forgotten POC women.

[Cameron Steffian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important and insightful