Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Sexual acts to please the king?
Was it just me, or was there a lot of implied sex in Megillat Esther? Even in the Biblical text, the king asks only for beautiful young virgins to be brought before him so that he may chose a queen, only if she pleased him. The same exact thing happens in Megillat Esther, only that the Graphic novel shows a lot of implied sex. An example being on page 48 of the graphic novel that depicts four different women who were chosen to be sent to the king to see is she “pleased” the king. These women are depicted as beautiful and, as the text says, virgins. The first three women on the page seem to be dressed in lingerie type clothing, implying that these women are trying to please the king through sexual acts. However, it’s funny that the last woman on the first frame seems to not be wanting to please the king through sex, but rather food. The page then goes on in the next three frames all showing the king laying down (belly and all) with a different woman coming up to him in the three different frames. These women appear to be pleasuring the king through sexual intercourse or sexual acts (the first frame shows a woman with a feather that implies some type of Kinky sex? (pardon my explicitness) the second frame shows a woman putting oil on her hands implying you know what, and the third frame shows a woman who is doing who knows what to the king). The implied sex in the text isn’t graphic, but rather (as previously stated) implied. It’s just interesting that Jt Waldman shows this in his graphic novel because when I personally read the Biblical book of Esther, I assumed when it said “pleased the king” meant that the woman was beautiful and pleasing to look at, not a woman who fulfills the sexual desires of the king. Maybe the Biblical text was implying sex and I misunderstood, or JT Waldman just interpreted the text in this way in his Graphic novel.
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I'm glad you mentioned this, because I had the same thoughts when looking at page 48 the first time! Sex is not specifically mentioned in either texts, but like you said in Megillat Esther, it seems to be implied especially by each woman holding something different like a feather. You also mentioned that when you read the Book of Esther you did not assume "pleasing the king" was sexual. I don't necessarily think you're wrong. Although Waldman hints at it in his graphic novel, that is his interpretation and it doesn't have to be yours. I've recently come to realize that graphic novels leave a lot of questions unanswered, but maybe it's because they want you to come up with your own conclusion or opinion. I liked your observation.
ReplyDeleteHi Tim.I was wondering the same thing as well. I looked at the oil-feather-crotch scene and I was really taken away for some reason. I wanted to ask it in class but I didn't want to be considered a pervert for doing so. Like Jessie says, there wasn't any explicit sex at all, but one may always wonder.
ReplyDeleteThe implication of sex in Migillat Esther is certainly there. If you read the text, it is quite clear that the virgins were recruited into the king's harem where they stayed until the king requested their appearance again.
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