Week 2 Day 2 (Non-Fairytale, Manners)

NON-FAIRYTALE

Beth basically says that some girls might have been "swept up in the dreamy romance and glamour of it all". 

Even though certain parts of the story sound "Cinderella"-esque (such as the ladies primping for the possibility of be chosen to become royalty), Beth makes it known that the "scene wasn't like Prince Charming's fairy-tale charges searching high and low for the foot that fit the glass slipper" and that a lot of the girls were forced into being candidates for queen and were "herded like coddled cattle". She quotes Fox on page 40 calling what the girls went through as "plush ... imprisonment" and that "Most oppressive - is that their will, whatever it may have been, is of no interest ... They are handed around, from home, to harem, to the king's bed. Their bodies belong to others ..."

She also mentions some may have even been engaged to be married and dragged away from that in order to be considered by King Xerxes as his potential wife. That must have been difficult for the gals who were already in love with someone else, as well as for the ones who didn't want to be there for whatever reason(s).

MANNERS

"Describe the difference ... between "finding" and "gaining" favor." - (page 41)

I would say idleness vs. action.

"Esther neither curled up in a corner and passively received the favor of Hagai nor blended in so thoroughly that his favor would have gotten lost trying to find her. Something actively and openly exuding from her won his favor." - (page 41)

"... how would you define the term "manners"?" - (page 42)

Beth had used the word "humble" and I think that fits. I would also say non-demanding, not entitled, respectful, and kind.

"One good thing about living in an increasingly crude world is that a woman with manners ... ... can stand out like a rare gem in a barrel of coal." - (page 42)

I agree!