The year is 1870, and on January 11, a strange chain of events is about to begin, culminating in the grave of an anonymous Jew in the cemetery. Pere Lachaise (Pere la Chaise) in Paris would become a pilgrimage site, reminiscent of the tombs of the righteous in the north. That day, the journalist Ivan Salmon, a 22-year-old Jew who went by the pen name “Victor Noir,” was sent by his manager Paschal Grousset to deliver an invitation to a duel to Prince Pierre Napoleon (brother of Emperor Napoleon III). However, the prince, hot-tempered, was offended by the invitation and began cursing the messenger. The heated exchange quickly escalated into violence, and finally the prince drew his pistol and shot Victor Noir to death.
How Victor Became a Symbol of Struggle
The late Victor Noir immediately became a symbol among the opponents of Emperor Napoleon III and their original intention was to organize a large funeral procession that would end at the famous Père Lachaise cemetery. However, Victor Noir's brother, Louis, who feared that the funeral would quickly turn into a bloodbath, managed, after much effort, to convince the admirers of Victor Noir's memory to give up the idea and bury him in the suburb of Neuilly. However, although he was buried in a modest ceremony in a relatively anonymous cemetery, Victor Noir's memory did not fade and he became a symbol among the French left. In 1891, his admirers decided to transfer Victor Noir's body to Père Lachaise and build him a magnificent tomb. The headstone, a life-size bronze statue of Victor Noir lying down after being shot to death, was built by the sculptor Dalou, who for some reason decided to highlight Victor Noir's groin area and add an impressive bulge there. For many years, Victor Noir's grave remained relatively anonymous, and as the years passed and his family and close friends became fewer, so did visits to the gravesite.
How Victor Noir Became a Sex Symbol
However, in the 70s, a revolution took place and the tomb suddenly became a pilgrimage site. It all started when a tour guide jokingly said that rubbing Victor Noir's erection was a cure for women who were having trouble conceiving. The rumor spread like wildfire in Paris and many women began to visit the tomb and rub themselves against the bronze protrusion. As a result, if you visit the tomb today, you will not only find a well-kept plot with flowers that are changed frequently, but also a tombstone in which a very specific part of it shines immaculately... And so, ironically, the tomb of a plump, squat, young Jew, who apparently never knew a woman during his short life, became a symbol of fertility and a tomb to which women go. France For the foot. Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel the Wise – Victor Noir is behind you!
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