Part 1 Summary

In the center of the stage is the bedroom of a young Negro woman, Sarah. Around this room are the various rooms that are the settings for other scenes of the play.

Before the play begins, a white woman in a white nightgown with long, straight black hair crosses the stage mumbling. As she goes out, the curtain rises, revealing the Duchess of Hapsburg and Queen Victoria in the Queen's bedroom. They both wear headpieces that conceal mounds of wild, curly black hair. They also wear masks, painted a whitish yellow color, or wear facial makeup of the same whitish yellow color.

A knocking is heard and continues throughout the scene. The conversation between the Duchess and Queen Victoria reveals that the person knocking is the Duchess's father, a very dark Negro man. He had raped the Duchess's mother, and both women feel...