The novel opens with a quote from the Bible’s Book of Judith, noting how God led the Assyrian general Holofernes into the hands of a woman, Judith, who then killed him. The narrator sits with the goddess Venus, dressed in furs, noting her stony eyes and voice. The two debate love and have sex. Venus tells the narrator he is “cold,” while the narrator calls Venus “cruel.” The narrator says sex is a mutual subjugation, and whoever fails to subjugate will be punished by the other.

Venus says women are expected to be subjugated to men and the only pursuit a woman should have is the pursuit of pleasure. Venus criticizes people in the “North” for marrying into loveless relationships, while the narrator insists marriage is mutually beneficial. Venus comments that rigid Northerners still worship “pagan” passion and love, but they then feel the need for penance, adding that no one should be ashamed of their passion. The narrator calls Venus “coquettish,” and Venus notes the narrator’s love of furs, telling the narrator he is dreaming.

The narrator’s servant wakes him and comments on the book the narrator was reading by Hegel.