I'm Not a Harlot
When Saartjie first tries to speak with Hendrick about ending the "touching" portion of the show, she tells him that she isn't a harlot, a prostitute. This quote foreshadows the end of Saartjie's life when she is forced by circumstance into prostitution. It also represents situational irony because the thing that Saartjie tries so hard to prevent being seen as—a harlot who takes pay for allowing her body to be touched and abused—is what she ultimately becomes.
Soon, You'll Be Free
Hendrick encourages Saartjie to stick with the show saying, "You're famous, and soon you'll be free. You know what that means? We can return to Cape Town with our heads high and pockets full. You'll do whatever you want. Free! Money is freedom."
There is the implicit understanding that Saartjie may "choose" to participate in the show or leave, but she is not yet truly "free." Hendrick convinces Saartjie that if she can earn enough money, she will have true freedom to do as she wishes. But, in a display of dramatic irony, viewers know that even in death Saartjie will not have the freedom and the ability to prevent others from touching, abusing and exploiting her body for their own curiosity.
Tears of Pleasure
In Saartjie's final performance, Réaux exposes her privates to the guests and tells them to touch Saartjie and "give her pleasure." A woman in the crowd notices when she begins to cry silently and is dismayed at her reaction. Réaux knows that Saartjie does not want to be touched and does not want to have her privates exposed but he tells the crowd she's not crying, "Those are tears of joy, of pleasure. Give her pleasure." Réaux needs the crowd to believe that the touching is as much about Saartjie's pleasure as their own. But in reality, the shows and the touching were never about her pleasure, but have always represented her pain, and ironically, her isolation. Because Saartjie was not allowed to voice her own wants and desires (to end the touching portion of the show), she remains isolated from the people around her, functioning more as an object than a person with her own emotions and desires.
Mort (Death)
In Saartjie's conversation with the journalist about her family, she repeats the word "mort" (dead or death) over and over. She is visibly pained by the memory of those she has lost, but her pain seems to represent as much her isolation in her new life in Europe performing and offering herself to be touched for others' curiosity. As she repeats the word over and over again, it begins to seem as though it applies as much to Saartjie as to her deceased family members. And there are further links between the word and Saartjie's situation.
In French, mort is associated with another phrase, "la petite mort" which literally translates as "the little death" but refers to an orgasm. Réaux has begun sexualizing Saartjie's performances while the guests become visibly aroused. She becomes an object for their "petites morts" but she is left to suffer the grand death, sacrificing more of herself for the pleasure of others. Saartjie says that her family members are dead, but she is also being killed by her performances.
The Civilized and the Savage
Perhaps the greatest irony of Black Venus is the idea of who is included in civilized society and who is considered a savage. European society considers Saartjie a savage. The scientist Georges Cuvier insists that he has never seen a more ape-like face than Saartjie's, comparing her with primitive animals. Whether it's the working class peoples of London, the elites of Paris, or the scientists of the Academy of Sciences, they all view Saartjie as a curious example of brute inferiority.
The more that Saartjie tries to cling to her dignity and her humanity by refusing to let others touch and abuse her, the more the "civilized" Europeans around her respond with violence. When crowds are invited to touch Saartjie, they respond by slapping, pinching, poking and even biting her. Hendrick shouts at her and eventually beats her when she doesn't want to let others touch and examine her private areas. The scientists try to violently rip her loincloth from her body to look at her private parts when she won't remove it for them. Then one man follows her to her dressing room so he can spy on her as she dresses. These men think of themselves as civilized and superior, yet, time and again, they respond to Saartjie with violence and brutality, exposing themselves as savage and uncivilized.
