Pen-Elayne on the Web

The Whole Megillah

Tonight marks the start of Purim, probably my favorite Jewish holiday because it revolves around the heroism of a woman, namely Esther. The Book of Esther was originally a scroll (Megillat Esther means "The Scroll of Esther") said to be a first-hand account of the events of Purim, written by Esther and her cousin Mordechai themselves. By special request of Esther to the Sanhedrin, the Megillah was included as one of the 24 books of the Biblical canon. It's a pretty cool story, and there are some pretty cool rituals that accompany the festival, such as kids wearing masks and costumes (it's customary to dress up as the characters in the story) to commemorate, among other things, the tale's plot elements of mistaken identity and disguises. There's also a sort of obligation to drink until you cannot tell the difference between the villain Haman and the male hero Mordechai. (Kinda the Jewish Hallowe'en and the Jewish St. Patrick's Day, all rolled into one!) I for one will be getting drunk and watching the Teen Titans cartoon tonight because it guest-stars Aqualad and, as Laura and Leah have reminded all, today is Aqualad's birthday, but I digress... I've been wanting to write the Megillat Vashti (the Persian Queen who refused to demean herself by doing a strip-tease before King Ahasuerus' guests, thereby sealing her doom - not to mention that of the Babylonian royal bloodline - for disobeying her husband's order, and not incidentally setting Esther's story in motion) as a comic book story for almost ten years now (I even have a willing artist, at least last time I checked about a month ago), and someday it will nag at my brain just enough to get it onto paper...