Chapter 2: Meet the Jews
It's years later, and Achashverosh wants a new queen. But he doesn't want another Vashti, that's for sure. He wants a woman with whom he can share his throne, but one who understands that HE has all the power. How can this be done?
His advisors come up with a plan that is as brilliant and effective as it is perverse and horrible. Women will be chosen for their physical attributes first and foremost. Only the most beautiful women will be considered for the king. After the royal eunuchs deem the girl beautiful enough, she will be allowed to go through a rigorous year-long spa treatment to make her suitable for the king's bed. It's a given that every one of these women be a virgin, so the king will have no competition in the girls' mind. After the king has had his way with each woman, he will decide if she is worthy. If so, she will be the next queen; if not, she is to remain in the women's court (read: harem) for the rest of her life. If and when Achashverosh ever wants to sleep with her again, he will send for her; otherwise Sheshgaz the eunuch will be her only male companion for the rest of her life. If the definition of rape is to dominate the victim through sex, then this plan will ensure that Achashverosh will be the greatest serial rapist of all time. This government-sponsored rape contest guarantees that the only man these women will ever know is the king, and he decides when, where, and how any sexual encounter is to take place. An ideal situation for a man like Achashverosh, who needs to be in control of everything.
Meanwhile, there is a Judean man living in Shushan named Mordechai (a descendant of Kish, a Benjaminite) who was exiled along with Nevuchadnetzar's exile of King Yechonia from Yerushalayim. While living in the capital, he keeps his eyes and ears open by staying in or near the royal court (whether he does this as an advisor, or courtier, or scribe is unclear). But as Jews in exile have done before and after him, he tries to maintain a relatively low profile so as not to incite any anti-Semitism. He's been raising his orphan niece, Hadassah, to do the same. In fact, in her case he goes a bit further: he changes her Hebrew name to a Persian one, Esther.
When word of Achashverosh's "pageant" came to Mordechai, he probably did what he could to make sure Esther would not be taken. But try as he might, she was taken with all the other maidens to Hegai, the eunuch in charge of preparing virgins for the king's consumption. As a precautionary measure, Mordechai instructs Esther to keep a low profile. "Don't tell anyone where you're from," he tells her, "under any circumstances. Not even the king may know your origins." His fear may have been that something might go wrong and the entire Jewish population might suffer as a result. Whatever his reasons, Esther obeys her uncle.
Hegai sees women all day long. Each one beautiful enough to be a queen in her own way. But usually, there are two types of girls he prepares for the king: The first are the girls who want to be queen at any cost. These girls will do anything to reach their goal, and Hegai is there as a tool for them to use, nothing more. The other type of girl is the kind that does not want to be there at all. These girls were taken against their will, and see their beauty as a curse. To them, Hegai is a warden, and go through his spa treatments and make-overs like women carrying out their sentence in prison.
And then Esther shows up.
Like a breath of fresh air, Esther brings a different kind of feeling to Hegai's preparation chambers. She doesn't bemoan her fate like some of the girls, but she doesn't seem all that interested in becoming the queen either. She seems content to be right where she is. What a delight for Hegai! Someone who actually likes being in his care with no hidden agenda of advancement! When Hegai sees this, he immediately warms up to Esther, giving her the best accommodations, oils, perfumes, and cosmetics. He also provides her with ladies-in-waiting, as if she were already queen.
And this is where Esther really sets herself apart from the rest.
When Hegai would offer any of the gifts mentioned to the first category of girl, they would either ignore him and take what they wanted, or they would take it the way a mistress takes a servant's advice. When he would offer it to the second type, they would either meekly take it out of fear of reprisal, or they would refuse because they didn't want to appeal to the king at all. Little did any of these women know that Hegai was an Achashverosh expert. He knew precisely what the king liked, and advised each girl accordingly. If only they'd take his advise as the expert he was, they'd each have a better chance of being queen.
And that is exactly what Esther does.
Esther accepts whatever Hegai gives her, no more and no less. And she doesn't take it as she would lashes of the whip, rather she genuinely wants it because he knows what would make her look best. She is a woman who has her own will, but is willing to bend it to authority.
If that's not a girl tailor made for Achashverosh, then Hegai doesn't know who is.
He advances her up the line to her "audition" with the king, and the qualities he sees in her do not go unnoticed by the king. A woman who will be herself, different from all the other millions of subjects under Achashverosh's command, yet willing to be subservient to his authority. She's perfect! How could he not fall in love?
And so, after years of searching, Achashverosh pronounces Esther to be his queen to reign beside him over the entire Persian empire. He marries her, and sends away all the girls left in Hegai's care (kind of like when Mr. Banks dismissed the left-over nanny applicants in Mary Poppins) so Esther wouldn't think she has any fear of losing to anyone better suited to be queen. He even declares a holiday in her honor, The Feast of Esther, and reduces taxes across the kingdom, so the masses will love her as well.
And that's that. Sounds like a storybook ending: The common girl marries the king and lives happily ever after. Kind of like a warped version of The Princess Bride, if Buttercup married Humperdink.
But the story is just getting started.
Oh, by the way - for those of you who like foreshadowing, here's a nice little anecdote:
Mordechai was at court one day, when he overheard two palace guards - Bigtan and Teresh - plotting to kill Achashverosh. Mordechai immediately went to his niece, the queen (which he did daily), and told her what he'd heard. The matter was looked into, and the two guards were quickly (too quickly?) executed for their plot. The matter was recorded in the king's log of daily events, but no awards were issued.
Strange, huh? I wonder if this seemingly unrelated event will play some part in the storyline later on...
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