Thoughts on Purim

[orichalcum]

stone_and_star mentioned once, years ago, having sympathy for Vashti, the original Persian Queen whose dismissal and/or possible execution made room for Esther in the Persian court. This led to me musing tonight on the problems of the Book of Esther as a feminist text.



Vashti refused to display her beauty before the assembled court of Xerxes (Ahauserus), an act which violated Persian tradition and which would have publicly humiliated and dishonored her. His advisors warned that she must be punished, lest she set an example and cause other women not to respect their husbands' orders. In order to ensure women's obedience and respect, Xerxes exiles Vashti and sends messages to every part of his empire proclaiming "that a man should be ruler over his own household."

The new potential wives and concubines for Xerxes are picked on the basis of beauty alone, and Esther has 12 months of "beauty treatments" before the king falls for her and makes her queen. The first thing mentioned about her is her obedience to Mordecai's instructions to keep her nationality and religion secret. Her dominant characteristics are thus beauty and obedience. Later, Mordechai tells Esther to go plead the Jews' case before Xerxes; she does not come up with this plan on her own. She only consents when religiously and emotionally blackmailed by her father-figure. When Haman begs her for mercy, she allows Xerxes to think that Haman was sexually harassing her rather than pleading with her, and has him hanged. Then she takes his property, and then asks Xerxes to also hang Haman's ten sons.

I'm not sure how to deal with how this message of female submission and the importance of looking pretty in order to get favors from your husband, and whether it fundamentally undermines the tale of salvation and freedom from persecution that forms the reason for the celebration of Purim. Is it possible to praise Esther and Mordechai while pitying Haman's sons and being squeamish about their means of influence? How do I get beyond the image of Esther as the anti-Vashti, the vengeful pawn rather than the Queen?

As Velveteen Rabbi points out, this is also a story about a cycle of revenge and reversals, rather than forgiveness or compassion. It reminds me, somehow, of the old feminist fantasy trope of the rape-and-revenge stories - that the only way to create a female warrior figure was to have her be a rape victim who was hunting down her attackers. Can Esther only be powerful and virtuous when reacting to the threat of persecution and death? Other Biblical heroines - Deborah, Miriam, Hannah, Ruth - are noted and praised for their proactive stances and affirmative pursuit of justice and happiness. In the end, I'm not sure I'd want a daughter dressing up as Esther - any more than I'd want her dressing up as Ariel or Sleeping Beauty. Give me a role model who isn't defined by her relationship with a guy and her pretty face. (Which raises the question - do any Biblical women pass the Bechdel test???)

Comments

[stone-and-star.livejournal.com]

I have a lot of thoughts on Purim - here are some off-the-cuff ones on Esther.

First of all, thanks for the credit, but many have explored these themes in more depth, starting with Midrash Rabbah on Esther itself. In chapter 2 it says that the king calmed down and remembered what he'd done to Vashti. The midrash says that he realized he'd acted inappropriately (i.e., that her behavior was correct).

Secondly, while there are other people who share your assessment of Esther, I have to disagree. It's not clear how she feels about her situation, since we don't actually hear much of her own voice. (Yes, that's its own problem, but it's true of many Biblical women.) When she does speak, it's to take Mordecai's exhortation ("blackmail" seems strong to me - he's right! her people are going to die, and she may also be killed if the king discovers her identity) and turn it into a plan that she devises on her own. She risks her life approaching the king without having been summoned, having (IMO) figured out a way to do this that is most likely to put him in a good mood.

(This next part is based partly on teachings by Rabbi David Silber of Drisha.) Esther is politically savvy enough to know how to deal with King A. When she finally brings up the issue, she makes it all about his own interests so that he'll feel inclined to help. She plays on his own fears about his power and encourages him to think of Haman as someone out to seize control.

The megillah says that Esther was involved in the writing of the story of Purim. There are hardly any places in the Tanakh that describe women writing and this is one. While there are definitely things to criticize about her behavior, choices and situation, that's true of almost everyone in the Tanakh, male or female. I don't think we have to be harder on Esther than everyone else.