First off, the theme of costuming ourselves--wearing masks. On a basic level, this invokes images of the accouterments of the fetish scene--the leather and latex, if that's your thing...or even just what we choose to wear for our partner, to evoke the message we want to send--from whatever end we're coming from. And, for some of us, it's about the way we hide who we are because we have this aspect of ourselves. For the most part, I hide my kink from the world at large...and I hide the fact I'm a rabbi when I'm in kink-realm. In this way, I can relate to Esther...not wanting to let others know who she truly was....not being able to let her true self show, entirely.
And we have these wonderful, erotic pieces of the text. For someone into submission, all this talk of bowing can evoke a certain feeling. And, that whole not-a-fashion-show contest King A (I hate trying to spell his name) holds to choose a new queen. And what is, perhaps, the statement most full of innuendo in of biblical literature, Esther 4:2 (old JPS translation): "And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight; and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre." Ummmm...really?
And then we have these character archetypes, as I'm coming to see them.
Vashti: the sub who is well aware of her power and isn't afraid to be herself. As I said, I love Vashti in a lot of ways. The gal sticks up for herself. She is her own person and does what she needs to. I think she's gotten a bum rap from Judaism in general...I admire her, in many ways, more than I like Esther (who kind of seems kind of whiney, imho. And too willing to be led, in some ways.). Seems odd, from a sub perspective, I suppose. But, at the same time, she knows her limits--and once they're crossed, she's not going to let that happen. She knows what she wants in a D-type and isn't going to submit to one she doesn't want to submit to.
King A also comes off as the quintessential Dim Dom...the guy wants everyone to answer to him...and never seems particularly bright. And once he throws one gal away (because she wasn't twue enough), he tests out new models until he finds a new one. And then he falls for her...and pretty much lets himself be manipulated by everyone, despite the fact that he's still the one apparently in charge.
Still figuring out Haman and Esther and Mordechai. I guess Mord would be the helpful, supportive vanilla friend, who helpfully pushes those of us not-so-vanilla towards being whom we need to be. Haman, maybe, the overconfident sadist who knows what power he holds, but doesn't take all of reality (and what he might not know) into consideration--he acts as a Dominant, but isn't truly Dominant at his core.
And Esther, well, I don't really know. The newbie, perhaps? Taking others advice...scared of everything, it seems...willing to be pushed but, ultimately, willing to take care of what she needs to.
I've often wondered why Purim was such a kid-focused holiday. I mean, yeah--costumes are fun, and who doesn't like a good carnival. But when you look at it, I think we miss out on a lot. The drunken debauchery on the one hand...and the sexy nature of the story in general (even if not reading it as we might). The Book of Esther is a very adult story...I think it's a good thing for us to start thinking of it that way.
