Queen Victoria's Chamber (Queen Victoria and Sarah's Mother)
I chose to put Queen Victoria and Sarah's mother on the same page because they both physicalize Sarah's ideal image of whiteness and beauty.
Queen Victoria
Profile
Name: Queen Victoria Regina, Monarch of England ("Regina" means "queen" in Latin)
Ethnicity: British
Appearance: Queen Victoria 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.
Room Description
The room is called the "Queen's chamber" which implies more grandeur and wealth. The play describes the chamber as having "a dark monumental bed resembling an ebony tomb, a low, dark chandelier with candles, and wine-colored walls." (Funnyhouse of a Negro, pg. 5)
Relationship to Sarah
Queen Victoria is the idol and mentor of Sarah. She is present as a statue in Sarah's brownstone apartment room, as one of Sarah's personas, as well as a historical figure. She is described as telling Sarah of her whitness and her "royal world where everything and everyone is white and there are no unfortunate black ones." (Funnyhouse of a Negro, pg.8)
The Queen Victoria in British History
Victoria [(r. 1837-1901)] was born at Kensington Palace, London, on 24 May 1819. She was the only daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent, fourth son of George III. Her father died shortly after her birth and she became heir to the throne.
[...] Queen Victoria is associated with Britain's great age of industrial expansion, economic progress and, especially, empire. At her death, it was said, Britain had a worldwide empire on which the sun never set.
- Biography from the Royal Website
Queen Victoria ruled Britain for the majority years the Scramble for Africa (1885 – 1914) was at its height. Under her rule, Britain gained many colonies in Africa. The following video shows the progression of colonialism in Africa:
Watch from 0:28 - 0:47 to see the expansion during Queen Victoria's reign.
Sarah's Mother
Significance in Plot
Sarah's mother is the first character that the audience sees at the beginning of the play: "A woman dressed in a white nightgown walks across the Stage carrying before her a bald head. [...] Her hair is wild, straight and black and falls to her waist." She is also the role model of Sarah for her "white beauty" although she was neglectful as a mother.
Profile
Name: Unknown
Ethnicity: Black but "looks white"
Appearance: "her beauty, her straight hair and fair skin and grey eyes" (Funnyhouse of a Negro, pg. 16) and had straight hair but all fell out so she is bald
Education: English major in Atlanta
Relationship with Sarah and her Father
Sarah's Mother is described to have fallen out love with Sarah's Father in Africa and have refused intimacy in the wedding bed. She is also described to have started the "blame game" in the play by calling her husband "Black man" and after being raped by her husband calling her husband a "Black beast" that has "Black diseases." (Funnyhouse of a Negro, pg. 14)
The domestic sexual abuse and pregnancy changes Sarah's mother in way, however, where she spirals into mental instability. She starts to brush her hair until she loses all of it and talks to owls rather than her daughter. She justifies rejecting her daughter as rejecting blackness.
She is often described as a "blinding light" throughout the play. This is supported by how she attracts Sarah and Sarah's Father but convinces them that their "blackness" is something to be shameful of.
**The character of Sarah's Mother is villainized in the greater scope of the play, but it is important that this is not received as the villainizing of a victim of domestic sexual abuse.
What do the owls represent?
"While the owl is considered a symbol of wisdom in the West, in many countries in the East, it is associated with misfortune, witchcraft, and foolishness. In many parts of Africa, the poor nocturnal bird is reviled as a harbinger of death." (Anadolu Agency)
Therefore, Sarah's mother may be intending to seek for Western wisdom but in actuality seeking out evil and death.