In the Japanese anime Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (R2), the de facto rulers of the oligarchic Chinese Federation comprise a group of eight eunuchs called "High Eunuchs".
In the manga Red River, one of the main villains, Urhi, is a eunuch.
Eunuchs feature prominently in the anime
Raven of the Inner Palace, which takes place in a fictionalized version of ancient China.
Comics
The titular character of That Yellow Bastard (February–July 1996), a limited comic book series, the sixth in Dark Horse Comics' Sin City series, is a eunuch. (The series was adapted as a film, titled Sin City (2005), also known as Frank Miller's Sin City.)
Films
Eunuchs appear often as villains in
Hong Kongkung fu and
wuxia films set in ancient China. For example, the films Dragon Inn (Xin long men ke zhan), Butterfly and Sword (Xin liu xing hu die jian), and A Touch of Zen (Hsia nu) all feature a eunuch or a group of eunuchs as the main villain. A popular eunuch villain used in ancient China stories is Eunuch Wei, who is based on a historical figure named
Wei Zhongxian. Eunuch villains are usually in charge of powerful political posts, such as being the leader of the East Chamber.
In
Mel Brooks's comedy History of the World, Part I (1981), under the section of "The Roman Empire", an entire scene is devoted to a joke about eunuchs, the length of African genitals, and the song, "
Caldonia"; all rolled into one.
In the Disney animated film Mulan (1998), the character Chi-Fu is a royal advisor that has been attached to Captain Li Shang's forces. Due to his effeminate demeanor, nature as a royal advisor to the Emperor of China and the historical nature of the film, he would be assumed to be a eunuch.
The Last Eunuch (1988), a Chinese biographical film directed by
Zhang Zhiliang, tells the story of
Sun Yaoting, who saw the last royal palace's extravagant lifestyle and experienced the breakdown of the last imperial empire and felt the new changes brought by the new age.
In
Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), the Grand Turk attempts to entertain the Baron playing his musical
torture device and singing "The Torturer's Apprentice" before the eunuchs of his
harem join to give a chorus performance called "A Eunuch's Life is Hard".
The documentary film Bombay Eunuch (2001) examines the changing role of India's
hijras, some of whom are also eunuchs.
The documentary film American Eunuchs (2003) investigates the underworld of modern eunuchs in America.
In the film One Night With the King (2006),
Hadassah's (Esther's) would-be boyfriend, Jesse, is captured by the Persian empire and castrated.
The documentary film Kiss the Moon (2010), set in Pakistan, portrays three generations of eunuchs examining the ancient rituals and religious beliefs surrounding their community.
Nilkantho treats the plight of the Indian hijras with sensitivity.[citation needed]
In Murder 2 (2011), by
Emraan Hashmi, the antagonist castrates himself and becomes a eunuch.
The Eunuch and the Flute Player (2017), directed by
Kaushik Ganguly
Games
In the video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015), the loyal servant and bookie of head Redanian Intelligence Sigismund Dijkstra is a eunuch, called Happen the Eunuch. He takes care of the Bathhouse in Novigrad, which is open to both sexes.
Literature
Pre-19th century
Eunuchus (The Eunuch) is a comedy by the Roman playwright
Terence.
In
William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night (c. 1601), Viola initially decides to disguise herself as a eunuch named Cesario in order to serve Duke Orsino.
In The Country Wife (1675) by William Wycherley, the main character, Mr. Horner, pretends to be a man turned eunuch by impotence caused by
syphilis, in order to gain access to the bedrooms of married women.
Eunuchs feature prominently in
Montesquieu's novel Lettres Persanes (1722) about Persian visitors to 18th-century France.
One of the characters that
Voltaire's Candide (1759) meets on his adventures is a eunuch.
In Tristram Shandy (1759) by Laurence Sterne, Tristram has an accident with a window and Uncle Toby has a war injury.[2]
Vathek by
William Beckford — alternatively titled Vathek, an Arabian Tale or The History of the Caliph Vathek — was written in 1782 in French but first published in English with a translation by Reverend
Samuel Henley (1786). The first French edition, Vathek, was published in 1786. The character of Vathek is a caliph who has a retinue of eunuchs.
19th century
Don Juan (1819–1824) by Lord Byron, in Cantos V and VI, has a eunuch from the Sultan's harem. The eunuch buys Juan, a non-Muslim, as a slave, brings him to the sultan's palace in Constantinople, and threatens to castrate him if he does not put on a dress. Juan is presented to the sultan as Juanna and spends the night in the women's quarters.
The Temptation of Saint Anthony (1874) by Gustave Flaubert is set during one night in the late 3rd or early 4th century in the Egyptian desert. The character Montanus is a eunuch.
20th century
The Daughter of Heaven, originally published as La Fille du Ciel (1911) by Pierre Loti and Judith Gautier, translated by Ruth Helen Davis (1913)[3]
In
Robert E. Howard's short story "
The Scarlet Citadel" (1933), the main antagonist has a eunuch prison guard named Shukeli, in whom normal human passions have been replaced by extreme sadism.
In
Constant Lambert's Music Ho! A Study of Music in Decline, the title alludes to a short passage in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra: ALL: The music, ho! Enter Mardian the Eunuch. CLEOPATRA: Let it alone; let's to billiards.
The eunuch Manan is a major character in The Tombs of Atuan (1971), the second book from
Ursula K. Le Guin's
Earthsea series. The story largely takes place in a large convent where no men are allowed, so a number of other eunuchs are mentioned. One among them is Duby, who Manan plays a stick game with.
The Alteration (1976) by
Kingsley Amis is an "alternative history" set in 20th-century England about a boy soprano and eunuch.
Suttree (1979) by
Cormac McCarthy has a eunuch named Thersites who yells at passersby from his window in McAnally Flats.
Castrati singers in 18th-century Italy are the main characters of Anne Rice's novel Cry to Heaven (1982).
The Queen
Salmissra, in
David Eddings' series The Belgariad (1982–1984) and The Malloreon (1987–1991), is only allowed to be served by eunuchs. Her chief eunuch, Sadi, becomes a principal character in The Malloreon, and is referred to in The Prophecy as "The Man who is no Man."
For the greater part of
Iain Banks' novel The Wasp Factory (1984), the 16-year-old narrator
Frank Cauldhame claims to be a eunuch, the result of being savaged by a dog when he was an infant. At the novel's climax, Frank discovers that he was, in fact, born female.
The society described in
Rieko Yoshihara's Japanese novel (and later anime series) Ai no Kusabi (1987) has within its caste system "Furniture", or eunuchs who act as servants to the highest social class. The character Katze was once Furniture but now works on the black market.
Wilbur Smith's Egyptian series of novels about ancient Egypt, beginning with River God (1991), follow the adventures of a talented eunuch named Taita.
Departures (1993) by Harry Turtledove is a story collection. The story "Counting Potsherds", originally published in Amazing Stories (March 1989), has a eunuch named Mithredath.[4][5]
Domino (1995) by
Ross King is about an Italian castrato singer.
The Eunuch: A Dark Tale (1995) by Richard Bird.
The Last Castrato (1996) by John Spencer Hill is the first book in the Mystery of Florence series.
The Rose Crossing (1996) by Nicholas Jose is set on the Indian Ocean in the 17th century. It has a eunuch character, Lou Lo.
In The Plotters (1996) by Gareth Roberts, Robert Hay's eunuchs attacked Vicki Pallister to get information about the First Doctor Who.
Last Evenings on Earth (Llamadas Telefonicas in Spanish) was published in 1997. It's a collection of short stories by Chilean author
Roberto Bolaño. It was translated by Chris Andrews in 2006. The short story "Mauricio ('The Eye') Silva" is about a man who rescues a castrated boy from a brothel in India.
21st century
John, the Lord Chamberlain Mystery is a historical mystery series. It's sometimes called John the Eunuch. The authors are
Mary Reed and
Eric Mayer. The first book, One for Sorrow, was published in 1999. The novels detail investigations carried out by John, the eunuch
Lord Chamberlain to
Emperor Justinian I, in and around the sixth-century imperial court in
Constantinople.
In The Slow Empire (2001) by Dave Stone, a novel about the Eighth Doctor Who, Fitz Kreiner had to watch over a woman, and the Emperor wanted to castrate him.
Sazed, a major character in
Brandon Sanderson's
Mistborn trilogy, was made a eunuch at a young age to prevent his magical abilities being inherited. He eventually ascends to godhood, becoming an entity called Harmony. The first book was published in 2006.
Dan Brown's thriller The Lost Symbol's (2009) main antagonist Mal'akh (real name Zachary Solomon) is revealed to have castrated himself, among other body modifications.
George R. R. Martin's fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire and its TV adaptation, Game of Thrones, features numerous eunuchs, including: the eunuch
Varys (also called the Spider), a court official bearing the title of Master of Whisperers, the equivalent of the real world
spymaster;
Theon Greyjoy, who is implied to have been castrated while held prisoner; and the Unsullied, elite eunuch soldiers, who are also prominently featured in the books.
Sultana: The Pomegranate Tree (2015) by Lisa J. Yarde is set in Moorish Spain. It's the fifth book in the Sultana series. There is a eunuch named Fatou.
The Sky Worshipers (2021) by F.M. Deemyad portrays Princess Chaka, betrothed to
Genghis Khan, who is helped by an African eunuch named Baako.
The Rebel Nun (2021) by Marj Charlier mentions a eunuch character.
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan features a eunuch (General Ouyang) as one of the main characters.
Music
The punk rock band the
Descendents wrote a song about a eunuch called "Eunuch Boy", which was on their 1996 comeback album Everything Sucks.
Television
In the TV show Major Dad, a eunuch was in charge of the
security wives of Emir of Katodd.
In the Red Dwarf episode "Marooned", Rimmer is said to have been
Alexander the Great's chief eunuch in a past life.
In the British TV comedy "Blackadder", (Series 1, episode 2, "Born to be King"), set In the 15th century, the character 'McAngus' mistakes Blackadder, Duke of Edinburgh, as a eunuch, due to his strange appearance and high-pitched voice; ("I am NOT a eunuch", Blackadder tells McAngus, who replies "Well, you sound like one to me!"). In the same episode, Blackadder has a conversation with his brother, Harry prince of Wales, who insists that eunuchs are an essential part of any celebration.[6]
^Jeffrey, David Lyle (1992).
"Eunuch". A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 251.
ISBN978-0-8028-3634-2.
In the Japanese anime Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (R2), the de facto rulers of the oligarchic Chinese Federation comprise a group of eight eunuchs called "High Eunuchs".
In the manga Red River, one of the main villains, Urhi, is a eunuch.
Eunuchs feature prominently in the anime
Raven of the Inner Palace, which takes place in a fictionalized version of ancient China.
Comics
The titular character of That Yellow Bastard (February–July 1996), a limited comic book series, the sixth in Dark Horse Comics' Sin City series, is a eunuch. (The series was adapted as a film, titled Sin City (2005), also known as Frank Miller's Sin City.)
Films
Eunuchs appear often as villains in
Hong Kongkung fu and
wuxia films set in ancient China. For example, the films Dragon Inn (Xin long men ke zhan), Butterfly and Sword (Xin liu xing hu die jian), and A Touch of Zen (Hsia nu) all feature a eunuch or a group of eunuchs as the main villain. A popular eunuch villain used in ancient China stories is Eunuch Wei, who is based on a historical figure named
Wei Zhongxian. Eunuch villains are usually in charge of powerful political posts, such as being the leader of the East Chamber.
In
Mel Brooks's comedy History of the World, Part I (1981), under the section of "The Roman Empire", an entire scene is devoted to a joke about eunuchs, the length of African genitals, and the song, "
Caldonia"; all rolled into one.
In the Disney animated film Mulan (1998), the character Chi-Fu is a royal advisor that has been attached to Captain Li Shang's forces. Due to his effeminate demeanor, nature as a royal advisor to the Emperor of China and the historical nature of the film, he would be assumed to be a eunuch.
The Last Eunuch (1988), a Chinese biographical film directed by
Zhang Zhiliang, tells the story of
Sun Yaoting, who saw the last royal palace's extravagant lifestyle and experienced the breakdown of the last imperial empire and felt the new changes brought by the new age.
In
Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), the Grand Turk attempts to entertain the Baron playing his musical
torture device and singing "The Torturer's Apprentice" before the eunuchs of his
harem join to give a chorus performance called "A Eunuch's Life is Hard".
The documentary film Bombay Eunuch (2001) examines the changing role of India's
hijras, some of whom are also eunuchs.
The documentary film American Eunuchs (2003) investigates the underworld of modern eunuchs in America.
In the film One Night With the King (2006),
Hadassah's (Esther's) would-be boyfriend, Jesse, is captured by the Persian empire and castrated.
The documentary film Kiss the Moon (2010), set in Pakistan, portrays three generations of eunuchs examining the ancient rituals and religious beliefs surrounding their community.
Nilkantho treats the plight of the Indian hijras with sensitivity.[citation needed]
In Murder 2 (2011), by
Emraan Hashmi, the antagonist castrates himself and becomes a eunuch.
The Eunuch and the Flute Player (2017), directed by
Kaushik Ganguly
Games
In the video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015), the loyal servant and bookie of head Redanian Intelligence Sigismund Dijkstra is a eunuch, called Happen the Eunuch. He takes care of the Bathhouse in Novigrad, which is open to both sexes.
Literature
Pre-19th century
Eunuchus (The Eunuch) is a comedy by the Roman playwright
Terence.
In
William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night (c. 1601), Viola initially decides to disguise herself as a eunuch named Cesario in order to serve Duke Orsino.
In The Country Wife (1675) by William Wycherley, the main character, Mr. Horner, pretends to be a man turned eunuch by impotence caused by
syphilis, in order to gain access to the bedrooms of married women.
Eunuchs feature prominently in
Montesquieu's novel Lettres Persanes (1722) about Persian visitors to 18th-century France.
One of the characters that
Voltaire's Candide (1759) meets on his adventures is a eunuch.
In Tristram Shandy (1759) by Laurence Sterne, Tristram has an accident with a window and Uncle Toby has a war injury.[2]
Vathek by
William Beckford — alternatively titled Vathek, an Arabian Tale or The History of the Caliph Vathek — was written in 1782 in French but first published in English with a translation by Reverend
Samuel Henley (1786). The first French edition, Vathek, was published in 1786. The character of Vathek is a caliph who has a retinue of eunuchs.
19th century
Don Juan (1819–1824) by Lord Byron, in Cantos V and VI, has a eunuch from the Sultan's harem. The eunuch buys Juan, a non-Muslim, as a slave, brings him to the sultan's palace in Constantinople, and threatens to castrate him if he does not put on a dress. Juan is presented to the sultan as Juanna and spends the night in the women's quarters.
The Temptation of Saint Anthony (1874) by Gustave Flaubert is set during one night in the late 3rd or early 4th century in the Egyptian desert. The character Montanus is a eunuch.
20th century
The Daughter of Heaven, originally published as La Fille du Ciel (1911) by Pierre Loti and Judith Gautier, translated by Ruth Helen Davis (1913)[3]
In
Robert E. Howard's short story "
The Scarlet Citadel" (1933), the main antagonist has a eunuch prison guard named Shukeli, in whom normal human passions have been replaced by extreme sadism.
In
Constant Lambert's Music Ho! A Study of Music in Decline, the title alludes to a short passage in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra: ALL: The music, ho! Enter Mardian the Eunuch. CLEOPATRA: Let it alone; let's to billiards.
The eunuch Manan is a major character in The Tombs of Atuan (1971), the second book from
Ursula K. Le Guin's
Earthsea series. The story largely takes place in a large convent where no men are allowed, so a number of other eunuchs are mentioned. One among them is Duby, who Manan plays a stick game with.
The Alteration (1976) by
Kingsley Amis is an "alternative history" set in 20th-century England about a boy soprano and eunuch.
Suttree (1979) by
Cormac McCarthy has a eunuch named Thersites who yells at passersby from his window in McAnally Flats.
Castrati singers in 18th-century Italy are the main characters of Anne Rice's novel Cry to Heaven (1982).
The Queen
Salmissra, in
David Eddings' series The Belgariad (1982–1984) and The Malloreon (1987–1991), is only allowed to be served by eunuchs. Her chief eunuch, Sadi, becomes a principal character in The Malloreon, and is referred to in The Prophecy as "The Man who is no Man."
For the greater part of
Iain Banks' novel The Wasp Factory (1984), the 16-year-old narrator
Frank Cauldhame claims to be a eunuch, the result of being savaged by a dog when he was an infant. At the novel's climax, Frank discovers that he was, in fact, born female.
The society described in
Rieko Yoshihara's Japanese novel (and later anime series) Ai no Kusabi (1987) has within its caste system "Furniture", or eunuchs who act as servants to the highest social class. The character Katze was once Furniture but now works on the black market.
Wilbur Smith's Egyptian series of novels about ancient Egypt, beginning with River God (1991), follow the adventures of a talented eunuch named Taita.
Departures (1993) by Harry Turtledove is a story collection. The story "Counting Potsherds", originally published in Amazing Stories (March 1989), has a eunuch named Mithredath.[4][5]
Domino (1995) by
Ross King is about an Italian castrato singer.
The Eunuch: A Dark Tale (1995) by Richard Bird.
The Last Castrato (1996) by John Spencer Hill is the first book in the Mystery of Florence series.
The Rose Crossing (1996) by Nicholas Jose is set on the Indian Ocean in the 17th century. It has a eunuch character, Lou Lo.
In The Plotters (1996) by Gareth Roberts, Robert Hay's eunuchs attacked Vicki Pallister to get information about the First Doctor Who.
Last Evenings on Earth (Llamadas Telefonicas in Spanish) was published in 1997. It's a collection of short stories by Chilean author
Roberto Bolaño. It was translated by Chris Andrews in 2006. The short story "Mauricio ('The Eye') Silva" is about a man who rescues a castrated boy from a brothel in India.
21st century
John, the Lord Chamberlain Mystery is a historical mystery series. It's sometimes called John the Eunuch. The authors are
Mary Reed and
Eric Mayer. The first book, One for Sorrow, was published in 1999. The novels detail investigations carried out by John, the eunuch
Lord Chamberlain to
Emperor Justinian I, in and around the sixth-century imperial court in
Constantinople.
In The Slow Empire (2001) by Dave Stone, a novel about the Eighth Doctor Who, Fitz Kreiner had to watch over a woman, and the Emperor wanted to castrate him.
Sazed, a major character in
Brandon Sanderson's
Mistborn trilogy, was made a eunuch at a young age to prevent his magical abilities being inherited. He eventually ascends to godhood, becoming an entity called Harmony. The first book was published in 2006.
Dan Brown's thriller The Lost Symbol's (2009) main antagonist Mal'akh (real name Zachary Solomon) is revealed to have castrated himself, among other body modifications.
George R. R. Martin's fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire and its TV adaptation, Game of Thrones, features numerous eunuchs, including: the eunuch
Varys (also called the Spider), a court official bearing the title of Master of Whisperers, the equivalent of the real world
spymaster;
Theon Greyjoy, who is implied to have been castrated while held prisoner; and the Unsullied, elite eunuch soldiers, who are also prominently featured in the books.
Sultana: The Pomegranate Tree (2015) by Lisa J. Yarde is set in Moorish Spain. It's the fifth book in the Sultana series. There is a eunuch named Fatou.
The Sky Worshipers (2021) by F.M. Deemyad portrays Princess Chaka, betrothed to
Genghis Khan, who is helped by an African eunuch named Baako.
The Rebel Nun (2021) by Marj Charlier mentions a eunuch character.
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan features a eunuch (General Ouyang) as one of the main characters.
Music
The punk rock band the
Descendents wrote a song about a eunuch called "Eunuch Boy", which was on their 1996 comeback album Everything Sucks.
Television
In the TV show Major Dad, a eunuch was in charge of the
security wives of Emir of Katodd.
In the Red Dwarf episode "Marooned", Rimmer is said to have been
Alexander the Great's chief eunuch in a past life.
In the British TV comedy "Blackadder", (Series 1, episode 2, "Born to be King"), set In the 15th century, the character 'McAngus' mistakes Blackadder, Duke of Edinburgh, as a eunuch, due to his strange appearance and high-pitched voice; ("I am NOT a eunuch", Blackadder tells McAngus, who replies "Well, you sound like one to me!"). In the same episode, Blackadder has a conversation with his brother, Harry prince of Wales, who insists that eunuchs are an essential part of any celebration.[6]
^Jeffrey, David Lyle (1992).
"Eunuch". A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 251.
ISBN978-0-8028-3634-2.