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Anguished
Portrait of Vashti
16 X 20 ON OIL BOARD |
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The
story of Vashti is a side story and preface to the Book of Esther but
its message is quite timeless and universal although Vashti's story's
immediate purpose is to clear the stage so that King Ahasuerus could
choose a new queen. King Ahasuerus was a very powerful Persian ruler
who reigned over 127 different provinces from India to Ethiopia. He
had a royal throne in Shushan, Vashti being his queen. After he
conquered all these different provinces, he held a huge banquet in
celebration, and then held another in his palace for his personal
court. King Ahasuerus entertained the men in one portion of the
palace, and entertained the women with Queen Vashti
in her part of the palace.
The
Court was famous for its excess, and the men were at the height of
their drunken revelry when they decided to send a messenger to Queen
Vashti. She was to dance before the court naked wearing only her
crown. When Vashti received the summons from her king, she excused
herself and retired to her chambers. She was distraught and agonized
over what she had been ordered to do. She would have to humiliate and
degrade herself. She would lose all dignity. The entire court would
see that though she may be queen, ultimately she is nothing more that
the King's chattel.
In
this first painting she is anguished. She is enchained by her status
and position. Her many jewels symbolize the paradox of her position.
According to one midrash, while she is in this state of anguish, a man
comes to her window. Fearing yet another messenger she recoils. He
states to her," I am a messenger, but not from the king. I am a
messenger from God". Not understanding, she asks, "which God
is that?" for Vashti is Persian and her pagan religion harbors
many gods. He responds, "the God of the Jews". In the second
painting, he begins to tell her story, including her feelings as
child, being raised and groomed by her father to become a queen solely
in order to enhance his position and her inner sorrow of that being
her only value to her father.
She
has never spoken about these secret feelings to anyone, so she
realized that the man before her was not just any man. He was in fact
the angel Gabriel, the angel of justice and strength. He said, "I
am here to request that you commit an act of sacred rebellion. You do
not have to do this despicable thing. You have a choice." For her
this is an epiphany. Until that moment she had no idea that there were
any choices. She could defy the king's order. She could go to him,
throw down the crown, and refuse to do his bidding. Though she might
be |
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with death, she would still have retained her dignity. This
epiphany, this newfound awareness that she could honor herself no
matter the trials placed in her path, is depicted in this third
painting.
It isn't known
whether she was executed or banished. She did refuse to dance, and
the king's advisors assured the king it was imperative to make an
example of her for if she successfully refused her husband
entreaties, all of the kingdom's women would take this as a model
and refuse their husbands.
We
all have a choice in our behavior. Our character doesn't come from
the adversity, which we face, but how we choose to handle that
adversity. I love this story because Vashti was not the typical
heroine; she was a privileged spoiled woman. However, by finding her
dignity and honor under the worst of circumstances, I could see that
I have a choice in how I conduct my life. |
