Esther of a Thousand Ideas

GOOD QUEEN ESTHER
~ ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS ~

~ Esther and Mordechai ~
Early 3rd century (244 CE) Roman Painting / Wood Panel
Dura-Europos Synagogue, Syria

Should you need a refresher course
on Esther's complicated dilemma,
please check out my daily blog from a year ago:

Don't Mess With Esther

. . . including the story as I learned it,
as depicted in my mother's childhood Bible storybooks.

You can also Click here for a helpful retelling of the conflict,
and here for an explanation of Esther's
role in the celebration of Purim.

****************

Artistic portrayals of Esther [and Vashti]

Both of the following
by Rembrandt (1606 - 69)

Ahasuerus and Haman at the Feast of Esther, 1660

Haman Begging the Mercy of Esther, 1660

****************

Poetic portrayals of Esther and Vashti

Both of the following
by Stacey Zisook Robinson

Book of Esther: A Poem

That blush on my cheek?
It's paint,
And I have glittered my eyes
And robed myself in the finery
of silk and gossamer,
lapis and gold--
And whored myself for your salvation.

You asked for no thoughts.
You merely offered my body
to the king--
My life forfeit
If my beauty failed.

You asked for no ideas
And I gave you none,
Though I had a thousand,
And ten thousand more. [emphasis added]

Diplomacy was played on the field of my body,
The battle won in the curve of my hip
And the satin of my skin,
Fevered dreams of lust
And redemption.

That blush on my cheeks?
It is the stain of victory
And of my shame.

&

Vashti: A Poem for Purim

I remember when he crooned,
Come, dance for me!
And I would,
just for him.

And Oh! It was
glorious, all silk and
heat and lithesome.
I moved like fire
I moved like water

And later, he moved
with me, a different kind
of heat, and he called me
his queen.

When did crooning
turn to calling,
and calling to demand?

Dance, he says,
Dance for me, and move
your hips,
and wet your lips
and come - as if I were
his pet, a bitch to lap up
praise from her master,
kept on a collar and leash.

But I am queen.
I am fire,
and water,
and lithe.

I will not dance
when you call.

****************

Further intriguing connections include

1. a sci - fi character named Vashti
in E. M. Forster's 1909 story "The Machine Stops"

&

2. a three - part poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox,
produced on Broadway in 1906 as The Drama of Mizpah:

"The Revolt of Vashti"
"The Choosing of Esther"
"Honeymoon Scene"
[you can read the poems under Comments]

Next Fortnightly Post
Sunday, April 14th

Between now and then, read
THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blog posts
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogsppot.com