Queen Esther Monologue

One actress.. about 10-12 mins

Excerpt:

ESTHER:

Although my beauty has faded, my memories are as vivid as if it were yesterday.

First, a little background about me.  I’m Hebrew, and my name is Hadassah.  But my Persian name is Esther, which is derived from the Persian word for star.  My parents died when I was very young and I went to live with my cousin, Mordecai.  He was more like an uncle because he was so much older than me.  Well, I guess he was more like a father.  It was just the two of us.  He had been exiled from Jerusalem with Jeconiah, the king of Judah.  That was all done by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.  We lived in the city of Susa, the capital of Persia.  The king at that time was Ahasuerus, also known by his Greek name, Xerxes.  I was blessed by God with a nice appearance.  Mordecai would say that I was beautiful.  There were times that I was not sure if that was a blessing or a curse.  I was taken to live with other beautiful women at the king’s palace.  The man who was in charge of us was Hegai.  He thought I was very beautiful and he liked everything about me, so I was promoted to the best place in the harem, and was given seven maids and all the food and cosmetics that I needed.  I did not tell anyone that I was a Hebrew.  Mordecai thought it best that we keep that little bit of information a secret.  The king was a very powerful man, and there was great fear of him.  We had all heard the story of his wife, Vashti.  She had refused to come in before the king and his men when they were drinking and wanted her to parade around and display her beauty.  He did not want her to get away with that behavior and be an example to other women that they can stand up to their husbands, so she was banished from the king’s presence and eventually, removed altogether.  That is why Hegai was setting up the harem, to find a replacement for the queen.