Why Did King Xerxes Display Of Wealth In Esther's

1182 Words3 Pages

King Xerxes was a ruler of over 170 providences stretching from India to Cush. As a great king over a vast empire, he showed his wealth by throwing long and large parties [1:4]. His display of wealth is the first thing that we see within Esther’s story [1:3-5]. This is important because it emphasizes how many people Xerxes was humiliated in front of when Vashti refused to come to him [1:12]. Due to the fact that his deposed wife Vashti disobeyed a command, he was counseled by advisers and then forced by his own edict to banish her and find a new wife. The king’s intention in calling for Vashti was to objectify her; he only wanted her to walk around naked in front of drunken guests attending his grand party. When she refused his order, the 7 wise men and the 7 eunuchs of the king were called in for their counsel. The queen was deposed for rejecting the king’s voice, which ultimately meant rejecting her husband’s order. Her behavior was condemned for its potential to spread and make other women want to do as the queen did. The powerful men nearest the king recognized her widespread example as queen and its likely harmful effect, and wanted to stop it. By Vashti’s example, we see that whenever a women stands up for herself, powerful men surrounding her have to put her down somehow. The wealth of the Persian Empire …show more content…

This violence refers not only to explicit acts of genocide but also to the structures of empire implicit in classically liberal western states that are based upon what may be termed an alternative soteriology of salvation from an assumed state of human violence. Such a soteriology is perpetuated via the structures of empire that enforce laws through coercive violence. Violence is the powers second most dominating structural societal

Open Document