ABSTRACT
Unroll the scroll of Esther, and open onto a many-splendored sea of booze. Indeed, it often appears that drinking parties are what float the plot. In the first nine verses of the story alone, there are three drinking parties. The first two are hosted by King Ahasuerus, who, as the story progresses, turns out to be a real wino who never turns down a drinking party. The third is hosted by Queen Vashti, very soon to be ex-Queen Vashti, written out by royal law for her refusal to be the king’s favorite object. Indeed, as the story opens, and as the wine flows from on high – and as the king becomes quite full of
it – one quickly realizes that, in this kingdom, parties have something to do with national politics, and that national politics has something to do with sexual politics.
