Victorian Nocturne

Phèdre having run its course, it was refreshing to Marguerite to have the silly humor of that satire, The Mikado. Gifted with a fine voice as well as acting abilities, she had been cast as Yum-Yum, the female lead. Every evening she would don the uncomfortable black wig and the rice powder. She wondered if Japanese women actually dressed like this, if they wore this much paint, if their kimonos were so burdensome as this. When she viewed herself in the mirror, she was much changed. Beneath the paint and wig she barely knew herself. She wondered if her audience would recognize her.

But recognize her they inevitably did. She was fast becoming a favorite in the theatres, heading toward the title of prima donna. And yet she had still not chosen a patron. Tonight this perturbed her as she sang her silly lines, becoming a comedienne when last she was a tragic figure. She had been receiving offers, gifts, and she accepted them, but she never gave a definite answer. She found herself relieved when she returned to the solitude of her dressing room, shutting out the sickening multitudes.

She sat down at her great vanity, leaving her maid to take care of her admirers. She liked to look at herself, though not, as one might think, for vanity's sake. She liked to see how the makeup changed her, how the costuming made her someone else. She stared at her reflection, wondering what it would be like were she one of those famed geishas, serving tea and sake in small glasses and entertaining dignitaries. She flipped open the fan prop she had. It was screened with a dragon. She peered out over it, fluttering her eyelashes in a coy, silly way. Like a girl, she made faces at herself for an unspeakable amount of time.

The performance was marvelous, or so John thought. The costuming, the song and dance, the music... All of it was bright and exotic, invoking images of the Orient, though the satire poked fun at the British Empire. On the first occasion, he purchased a ticket on a lark, wanting to see Marguerite on stage. He, unlike so many admirers, had been unfamiliar with her reputation prior to meeting the courtesan, so he was curious as to her talents outside the bed chamber.

( Privacy? Not Any Concept He Knows )

( The Scribblings of Mad People )

( Let Them Eat Cake )

( Another Billet doux )

( Orientalism )

( The Challenge )