Introduction: The Multifaceted Call of the Book of EstherSay no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay The Book of Esther is one of the greatest works of literature in the Hebrew Bible. His story is complex, inventive and colorful with complex characters. It is the basis of the celebration of Purim and is very popular, much loved by devotees, scholars and literati. But Esther is also one of the most contested books in the Hebrew Bible because of the two norms from which it departs: the absence of God as a defined, active presence and the depiction of an intelligent, hardworking woman as the savior of the Jewish people. . The additions in the Septuagint, which cancel out or attenuate aspects of these deviations, reveal interesting aspects of the anxiety that the Hebrew Esther aroused in some Jewish (and, later, Christian) readers. Here, in this beautiful and unique book, we see the clearest depiction of God as a truly unconscious presence, never mentioned, but always there, guiding the actions of individuals and the Jewish people as a whole. We are given a female heroine, who is her own archetype as she leans into and challenges the female characters who came before her. But the anxiety it provokes is perhaps even deeper than the book itself. In the Greek book of Esther, God is added at every turn and the role of Mordecai is confused, revealing a certain discomfort among the reviewers with the indistinct presence of God and a strong female heroine. However, these qualities make Esther one of the most intriguing texts for a psychoanalytic study of Jewish mythology.I. The Hidden God of EstherFrom a strictly narrative point of view, one of the driving forces of action in the Hebrew Esther is chance, or coincidence. However, if one reads Esther from a religious perspective, one assumes that all of these coincidences are the work of divine providence and part of God's ultimate plan, even though it is never mentioned in Hebrew . At the crucial turning point in the story, Mordecai suggests to Esther: “Perhaps you have attained royal dignity for such a time as this” (Esth 4:14). Later, his life is spared when the king's insomnia causes him to come across, by chance, the mention of Mordecai saving his life which he had forgotten (also by chance). Furthermore, it is implied that, even under the threat of the king's decree, the Jewish people will be delivered: Haman's wife warns him that his fall is linked to the reward of Mordecai "the Jew" (Aesthetics 6 : 13), and the Haman cast lots and gave him the month of Adar, the month in which Moses died. Haman takes this as a sign of favor from him, not realizing that it is also the month Moses was born. Finally, the conflict between Haman and Mordecai, although it begins as a conflict of wills, can be traced to Mordecai's ancestor Kish and Haman's ancestor Agag, symbolic of the statement that "l 'The LORD will make war against the Amalekites from generation to generation' (Ex 17.16). In fact, there are very few examples of deliberate actions in the first half of the story. Everything is assumed, implicitly, to be guided by the hand of God. However, the presentation of these events without any mention of God himself is what made Esther so troubling to Jewish and then Christian readers: the Greek Esther that appears in the Septuagint, which will be discussed in depth in the third section , attempts to modify the apparent absence of God. However, reading Esther through the lens of psychoanalysis, it becomes the primary book of the Hebrew Bible in which the nature of God as unconscious isthe most explicit. Mordecai refers enigmatically to an “other quarter,” interpreted by readers as God, but in very particular language evoking a power waiting to be discovered and connected to (Esth 4:14). Zion accepts the idea that all coincidences and all ironic rewards or punishments are the work of a divine plan, so, assuming that the divine is a metaphor for the unconscious, the book of Esther shows how the characters who are there are guided, redeemed and destroyed. by what Freud would consider their unconscious drives. Haman overestimates his own worth and importance to the king and, for this, meets a bitter end to his own purpose. The king is almost comically forgetful, oblivious and fickle, allowing himself to be manipulated by both Haman and Esther. And Esther, who is supposed in the legend to be a symbol of “hester panim” (the concealment of the divine face), can be seen as both the ego of the story, but also the person of God/the unconscious. Assuming Esther as the ego of the book, one might begin to attempt to form an idea of ​​her subconscious. Her self-image is that of a modest but beautiful young woman who begins the story as a rather obedient and pious Jew (despite her neglect of Jewish law, which is never addressed). His Jewish identity would seem primarily secular or ethnic, except that one might assume that the religiosity of his “Jewishness” is the presence of God as his unconscious. In her subconscious, we also find the king (her husband) and Haman, an adversary (and therefore perhaps a complex). There is also the ghost figure of Vashti, the openly rebellious queen that Esther replaced, and, of course, her uncle Mordecai. Esther and Mordecai can also be seen as anima and animus to each other. This is particularly evident in the gender role reversal that occurs in the fourth chapter. Until now, Esther has been submissive to her guardian and relied on him for help and assistance, but when it becomes clear that Esther is the only person capable of influencing the king's mind, it is Mordecai who must depend on it and follow it. his orders. Esther's transformation in this event is just one of the intriguing gender shifts distinct from the Book of Esther.II. Esther and the feminine archetype Esther finds herself in a special position in the biblical canon. Neither a clear example of the “temptress” archetype of Eve, Delilah and Jezebel, nor the “good wife” of Sarah, Rebecca and Ruth, she is a unique figure. Only the description of Judith - another pious and stunningly beautiful woman who delivers her people through her cunning intellect - owes much to Esther, and it is not surprising that both books have been contested (the book of Judith is also considered apocryphal outside the world). Catholic traditions). Technically, Esther is primarily a symbol herself - an iconic heroine of the Jewish people - and her status as a person is secondary to that, but her character is still rich and well-rounded, incorporating many different aspects of the women who she have preceded. . Even though Esther is the heroine of the story, the influence of the Eve archetype is still evident. Like Judith, Esther's power lies in her beauty and her ability to manipulate the king through, it is implied, sexual tension. She wins her place as wife, then an important conference with him, thanks to her remarkable beauty (without the aid of a cosmetic treatment, which highlights her potential as an exceptional temptress, but also her pious modesty) and provokes the Haman's defeat by arousing the king's suspicions. and jealousy. It is also important to note the relationship between Esther and the exiled queen Vashti. Vashti is also.