This is a response to Elizabeth Wurtzel's essay on Vashti, which can be found here.
Note: This is a work in progress...
The Bible is rich with untold stories. Perhaps that is why we sometimes read too much into them. I certainly can't claim anything similar to Wurtzel's 12 years of Jewish education, or even participation in any Purim celebrations (I was Miriam in a play once, but that's about it). Still, some truths seem very evident to my eyes.
So much of Wurtzel's writings deal with the fact that she implies Biblical women were misunderstood. I find it hard to argue that the actions of such a woman as Vashti could be easily misinterpreted. It can be said that Vashti knew what her refusal meant, for both her and the King.
Vashti struck me as a minor character, albeit one with major significance. If it were not for she, the book of Esther may not be in existence. But asserting that she is the darkness to Esther's light is incredulous. How could a woman be evil simply for refusing to dance in front of drunken men?
Perhaps the greater evil is to be found in the desires of the men themselves. They not only wished to see their queen perform a supposed erotic dance, they were indignant at the fact that she did not obey their wishes. Even more amusing is the fact that they appeared to be afraid of their wives following suit!
Wurtzel says of Vashti: "We were taught in Hebrew school that she had pimples, that she was vain, that she was disobedient, that she was wicked, and that she deserved to die." This is where the hairs on my neck begin to rise. Disobedient? Yes. Vain and wicked? Not to my knowledge. Pimples? Now that's getting ridiculous.
Perhaps Wurtzel's fascination with Vashti stems from something as simple as a name. Vashti. It suggests intrigue and mystery - or perhaps a fascination with too many Eastern movies. To the untrained ear (aka my own), the name "Vashti" sounds extremely Indian and exotic - therefore, "bad." At the very least, being married to a Persian king, it can be surmised that Vashti was a Persian woman.
Esther's name, on the other hand, is much more simple, plain, and "boring." But Esther is our beauty-queen winner, our "hero of the day." (And if you watch VeggieTales, she is a cucumber. This is very frightening.) It strikes me as the humble triumphing over the exotic, rather than a conflict of good and evil.
Jewish tradition has always mystified me (no pun intended), seemingly as well as the rest of society. Lilith, the supposed original wife of Adam, now lends her name to a female-centered music festival as well as a women's magazine. I can't help but wonder where this "Lilith" comes from. Another beautiful name - another mystery to me.
Having no experience with Orthodox Judiasm myself, I can only claim secondhand knowledge. It is no secret I have certain ...misgivings about Wurtzel's perceptions of Jewish tradition.
For example, I can't help but wonder how many Jewish girls share my name. If her given theology is correct, the veil that is lifted at Orthodox weddings signifies that the bride is no longer the ugly "Leah" but the lovely and desired "Rachel." In other words: Ouch. Wurtzel's description of the Biblical Leah is as follows: "Leah, forced upon Jacob as a wife though he really wants to marry her prettier younger sister Rachel, is described as teary-eyed and morose, and is compensated for her lack of physical attractiveness with great fecundity." Another blow. However, it must be pointed out that it is from Leah's line of descendants that Jesus was born.