The Book of Esther is Actually a Comedy
A tale often retold as a drama in western film, Hadassah, also known as Esther, is a Hebrew woman who becomes queen of Persia, and it is by her and her cousin Mordecai’s cunning that they thwart a genocide of their people. The Jewish festival of Purim commemorates them with feasting and additional prayers, gift-giving of food and drink, charity to those in need, and public recitation of the Book of Esther.
The Megillot
Written shortly after 465 B.C. by either Ezra or Mordecai, Esther’s story may be found in the Writings (or the Ketuvim), which comprises eleven books subdivided into poetry, historical recordings, and the Megillot (or scrolls). While Psalms, Proverbs, and Job are categorized as poetry, and Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah (formerly one work), and Chronicles, are categorized as factual historical accounts of Israel’s past, the Megillot, however, are works of prose that capture history in a form that may be compared to how dramatized film might illustrate both bygone times, and the era from which it was made. These works include Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther.
Funny Indicators of Storytelling Excellence
Unlike the other genres of Megillah, Esther is uniquely comical in comparison. It may not be uncommon for some to find that surprising, however one must recall that the Bible consists of many different styles and types of writing. In this regard, it would not be unreasonable to assume a work of comedy might find its way into such an ample collection. With its usage of inversions and reversals, Esther may be identified as a political satire of the Persian court, specifically. Ze’ev Weisman, professor at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, thinks this is the case. According to Weisman, “in itself, structure does not attest to the literary nature of a work, certainly not to its character as political satire… But a consideration of the structure of the Megillah is essential as it reflects reversal, which is the leading representative of the politically satirical tendency of the composition,” (Weisman, 142).
The Inner and External Cycles
Weisman elaborates by providing examples of these reversals, both within what he calls the “external cycle” and the “inner cycle” of the story. The external cycle is chonistic, or structural, where the story opens with a feast held by King Ahasuerus, king of Persia, and ends with the celebration of Purim by the Jewish people, who have escaped the king’s decree for their annihilation. The “inner cycle” illustrates the blatant reversals of the characters’ fates, such as the tree that Haman had prepared to hang Mordecai upon becoming the very one that he was in his stead. These are but a few of the examples of reversals found throughout the Book of Esther. However, it contains more hallmarks of comedy than just inversions and reversals, but stereotypes and ludicrous situations too.
A Cast of Caricatures
The individuals depicted in Esther are one-dimensional dramatizations of the roles their characters occupy. For instance, King Ahasuerus is framed as a drunken, lustful, naive puppet who is to be manipulated by those more cunning than he. Haman illustrates the perfect villain, one who cannot be sympathized with because he possesses no humanity to be sympathized. Mordecai plays the part of “the wise man”, the guardian, perhaps a sort of personification of the Jewish people with no personal agenda of his own. Esther possesses the classic qualities of every heroine of old: youth, beauty, and a clever mind.
Unsurprisingly, Esther, much like the women of Judges, is confined to the narrow definition of womanhood as defined by the male-centric culture of its authors. Mieke Bal’s essay on the Book of Judges offers a unique feminist perspective of biblical women that is otherwise either glossed over or typified in scripture. The same perspective may be applied to both Queen Esther and the former Queen, Vashti. In the Book of Esther, the two women parallel each other as representative objects for what is considered a good woman, and a bad woman — or more specifically, a good wife and a bad wife as King Ahasuerus’ queen. Vashti refuses to remove her clothes and be paraded naked before the king’s court, while Esther is meek and quiet, obedient to the king’s command. While this personification of Esther is challenged when she accepts it as her duty to intercede for her people, this kind of symbolism among female characters may be replicated throughout much of the Bible due to the patriarchal culture that it captures.
Jewish Historiography
Lastly, the “cycle of Jewish historiography” within the Book of Esther must be noted. This cycle establishes a sense of collective victory for the personal redemption of Mordecai, who began a captive and later became second to King Ahasuerus. Unlike Haman, the story’s chief antagonist, whom he succeeded, Mordecai’s rule is identified as being good and just. His and Esther’s initiative and scheming is perfectly paralleled to Haman’s, and those that once bowed to Haman’s authority are now loyal to the Jewish people. It may be reasoned that Mordecai’s victory over Haman, as both a literal and figurative representation of the Persian court, is an expression of the very real tension that existed between the empire and the Jewish people as a marginalized population. The etiological tendency within the Book of Esther “embodies a national message [that] contains a general implication for Israel and the nations… Which changes Megillat Esther from a story of an amusing political incident into political satire of import for generations, accompanying the Jews as a recurrent experience in their relations with the nations and the kingdoms where they are,” (Weisman, 159).
In conclusion, Esther represents an angle of Israel’s heritage in the form of a dramatized, historical prose. While it may not appear any different than other historical works upon initial impression, further analysis of its structural content and use of imagery may illuminate the parameters according to which it should be read.
Bal, Mieke. “Dealing/With/Women: Daughters in the Book of Judges”. The Book and the Text: The Bible and Literary Theory. Blackwell Pub. 1990. pp. 16–36.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Oxford University Press, 2010.
Weisman, Ze’ev. “Elements of Political Satire in Megillat Esther.” Political Satire in the Bible. Society of Biblical Literature, 1998. pp. 139–163.