The setting is the Persian empire, 6th century BC. King Achashveros hosts a days-long feast in the capital city, Shushan, and drunkenly requests that his wife, Vashti (who is known as the most beautiful woman in Persia) dance before his guests. Vashti refuses and is banished.
To replace his wife, Achashveros invites the most beautiful women of Persia for a beauty pageant. At her uncle Mordechai's urging, a young Jewish woman, Esther, enters the contest and is selected as the new Queen of Persia. Esther secretly practices Judaism.
In the meantime, the king appoints Haman as his right hand man. Haman (the evil guy in this story--when listening to the Purim story read aloud, we wave noisemakers to drown out his name) insists that all Persians bow down to him, and Mordechai disobeys because of his Jewish faith (and the commandment not to bow down to idols).
Haman's pride is offended, and he decides to annihilate the Jews. He builds a gallows specifically for Mordechai, then draw lots--the meaning of Purim is lottery--and selects the 13th of Adar to destroy the Jews.
Mordechai begs his niece, Esther, to use her position to save the Jews. Although she is afraid, as it is forbidden to make a request of King Achashveros without being summoned, Esther fasts and prays for three days, and approaches her husband. She invites him to a dinner party with Haman, and exposes Haman's plan to kill her people.
Moved, Achashveros authorizes a Jewish defensive, and orders Haman hanged--on the gallows he built for Mordechai. The Jews mobilize and fight victoriously, and so we remember and celebrate them, and Esther's courage, on this day.
Quite a tale! Now, our insight into gender implications. Please add your own interpretation to the comments section.
Sara: Esther is a complicated hero. She enters what amounts to a bathing suit contest to gain some theoretical power, but even she is forbidden to approach the king without an appointment. Does that really constitute power?
Naomi: Yes and no. On the one hand, Esther, like so many women today, simply operates within the confines of her society. In 6th century Persia, it would seem, women had very limited power. Esther uses one of the few power plays available to women--her sex appeal, that is--to marry the king and then sway him to save the Jews. So, this might be a case of the means justifying the ends. On the other hand, it would have been nice if Esther's smarts--instead of her looks--got her an in with the king. And let's not forget that Esther does everything--including that final heroic act--at her uncle Mordechai's bidding. She's not exactly autonomous.
Sara: I agree that Esther is not the type of decision-making woman I look to as a real leader. She doesn't even seem to realize the power in her sex appeal; it's Uncle Mordechai who knows that she can awe the king. Her reluctance to speak up even when the fate of the entire Persian Jewish population is at stake makes her a less than admirable figure. I think this is why I have always been more intrigued by Vashti, the king's first wife, who appears only briefly, but seems to speak for herself and is willing to receive banishment rather than meet the king's demand for a dance. Vashti's choice seems like a real choice.
Naomi: You're right. In some ways, Vashti comes across as more of a radical than Esther. She knows her sexual power and chooses to withhold it at her own peril. But, like Esther, she is totally limited because her sexual power is her only power. But I'm not completely convinced that Vashti knew that she would be banished by refusing to dance. In one interpretation of the Purim story, Vashti rebuffs the king because of her royal lineage (she is said to be the granddaughter of Nebuchadnezzer). "Am I a servant to the king?" she asks. Had Vashti been aware of the consequences of her sassiness, I don't believe she would have spoken up. Esther, on the other hand, seems all too aware of the king's temper. And so in some ways, she is very brave to risk punishment and speak her mind (or is it Mordechai's mind?) to the king.
Sara: I think a lot of what makes the Purim story interesting is how developed all of these people are, and how much personal pride seems to guide decision-making. I agree that Vashti isn't making her decision to withhold a dance based on feminist principles, but more on brashness. Vashti is a proud and vocal woman, compared to Esther who seems humble and reserved. In the context on her personality, Esther's request for an audience with the king does seem strikingly brave, even at the behest of Mordechai.
Naomi: And let's not forget that Esther, not Mordechai, is considered the Purim hero. Even though Esther is a pawn for her uncle, she is a willing and able pawn. And a pawn that saves her people. Oddly enough, the character with the most autonomy in the story--King Achashveros--is also a bit of a fool. He's totally jailed by his sexual desires. And he's easily swayed by his advisers. So perhaps the Purim story is less about personal freedom and choice and more about exacting change in a society that limits personal freedom and choice. That doesn't make the Purim story a feminist story, per se, but the issues within it resonate today. -Sara and Naomi
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