Queen Vashti and the Glass House

        It’s hard to tell sometimes whether the writer of the book of Esther is telling the story straight or has a tongue in one cheek. The latter seems to be the case in chapter 1, in which the patriarchal pretensions of King Ahasuerus of Persia and his officials get skewered quite effectively by Queen Vashti.

        The story goes that Ahasuerus, who is consistently portrayed throughout the book as equal parts egotist and dunderhead, holds a six-month-long banquet for his officials and nobles, followed by a seven-day banquet (what generosity!) for the commoners of his realm. On the seventh day of the feast, “when the king [is] merry with wine” (v. 10), he commands his royal eunuchs to bring out Queen Vashti so he can parade her before the crowd “in order to show the peoples and the officials her beauty; for she [is] fair to behold” (v. 11). She is to come out “wearing the royal crown” (v. 11), but the wording is ambiguous. It is not clear whether she is to wear anything else. To her credit (and in peril of her life) Vashti refuses to comply.

        This courageous assertion of her dignity enrages the king, and in a clear revelation of his character and a foreshadowing of what is to come, he turns to his advisors to determine what to do. Although his “anger burn[s] within him” (v. 12), he apparently lacks the strength of will or intelligence necessary to act on his own volition. He relies all too heavily on his counselors, a character flaw that will later endanger the lives of all the Jewish residents of his empire.

        The advisors are appalled by the queen’s behavior—not only because she has defied the king, but also because she has set a dangerous example for the women of the empire. “Not only has Queen Vashti done wrong to the king,” they declare, “but also to all the officials and all the peoples. . . . For this deed of the queen will be made known to all women, causing them to look with contempt on their husbands, since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’ This very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will rebel against the king’s officials, and there will be no end of contempt and wrath!” (vv. 16–18). If William Bendix (or Daffy Duck) had been a member of the Persian nobility, he might have added, “What a revoltin’ development this is!”

        The advisors propose a solution: Vashti is to be sent away, never again to appear before the king, and another young woman “who is better than she” (v. 19)—read: less willful and more compliant—is to take her place. They go on to express their fond hope for the upshot: “So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, vast as it is, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike” (v. 20).

        Vashti is one of the unsung heroines of the Bible. She appears only in this one chapter of the book of Esther, and she has no speaking part, but she exhibits a moral strength that rivals or even surpasses that of the great hero of the book, Mordecai. She single-handedly takes on the whole weight of the patriarchy and leaves those powerful men shaking in their boots. She holds onto her dignity and refuses to give in to the king’s demeaning demands. Her “punishment” is to be permanently exiled from this imbecile’s presence. One imagines she does not cry her eyes out upon hearing her fate.

        Vashti’s actions also point up the fragility of the patriarchy. If a simple “no” from the lips of one woman can represent such a profound threat to these mighty men, it becomes clear that the foundation of their male privilege is built on sand. I’d like to say that things have changed, but I’m afraid that would be stretching the truth. Patriarchy is still as brittle as ever, like a house made of glass. Here’s to all the modern-day Vashtis picking up rocks to throw.

Grace and peace,

bob