The Hapsburg Chamber (Duchess and Jesus)
Room Description
The Duchess's Chamber is described as a chandeliered ballroom with snow falling. It has a black and white marble floor with a bench decorated with white flowers.
Duchess of Hapsburg
Profile
Name: Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria
Ethnicity: Austrian
Appearance: The Duchess of Hapsburg is described as being "dressed in [a royal gown] of white, a white similar to the [ghastly] white of the [frayed] Curtain, the material cheap satin. [Her headpiece is] white and of a net that falls over [her] face. From beneath [her headpiece] springs a headful of wild kinky hair." (Funnyhouse of a Negro, pg. 5) On her face is a whitish yellow mask with "great dark eyes that seem gouged out of the head, a high forehead, a full red mouth and a head of frizzy hair". It is stated that the mask can be replaced with makeup. This is exactly the same as how Queen Victoria is dressed.
History of the Duchess
"Maria Theresa (1717-1780), archduchess of Austria, Holy Roman Empress, and queen of Hungary and Bohemia, began her rule in 1740. She was the only woman ruler in the 650 history of the Habsburg dynasty. She was also one of the most successful Habsburg rulers, male or female, while bearing sixteen children." She was know for her diplomatic and military tactics as well as for her devotion to Catholic faith.
Jesus Christ
Significance in Plot
Jesus in the play is portrayed as Sarah's perception of Jesus. Therefore, in Sarah's mind, Jesus is Victoria's son and is losing hair like she is. Though he tries to escape being black through "apocalypses and raging sermons," he realizes his father is a black man instead of God. He kills Patrice Lumumba in God's name.
Profile
Name: Jesus Christ of Nazareth
Ethnicity: Jewish
Appearance: Hunchback, yellow-skinned dwarf wearing white rags and sandals
History of Jesus
Jesus, also called Jesus Christ, Jesus of Galilee, or Jesus of Nazareth, (born c. 6–4 BCE, Bethlehem—died c. 30 CE, Jerusalem), religious leader revered in Christianity, one of the world’s major religions. He is regarded by most Christians as the Incarnation of God.
After about three years of spreading his teachings of how to live a loving and righteous life, Jesus was captured by the Sanhedrin who determined his claim to be the Son of God as blasphemous and was turned over to the Romans to be cruxified, executed on a cross. His location was revealed to the Sanhedrin by one of his twelve closest disciples, Judas Iscariot, who, overcome with guilt and shame for his betrayal, commits suicide by hanging.
Art by Akiane Kramarik