Degrade thee, Vashti? Rather do I seek
To show my people who are gathered here
How, as the consort of so fair a queen,
I feel more pride than as the mighty king:
For there be many rulers on the earth,
But only one such queen. Come, raise thy veil!
Vashti
Ay! only one such queen! A queen is one
Who shares her husband’s greatness and his throne.
I am no more than yonder dancing girl
Who struts and smirks before a royal court!
But I will loose my veil and loose my tongue!
Now listen, sire—my master and my king;
And let thy princes and the court give ear!
’Tis time all heard how Vashti feels her shame.
Ahasueras
Shame is no word to couple with thy name!
Shame and a spotless woman may not meet,
Even in a sentence. Choose another word.
Vashti
Ay, shame, my lord—there is no synonym
That can give voice to my ignoble state.
To be a thing for eyes to gaze upon,
Yet held an outcast from thy heart and mind;
To hear my beauty praised but not my worth;
To come and go at Pleasure’s beck and call,
While barred from Wisdom’s conclaves! Think ye that
A noble calling for a noble dame?
Why, any concubine amongst thy train
Could play my royal part as well as I—
Were she as fair!
Ahasueras
Queen Vashti, art thou mad?
I would behead another did he dare
To so besmirch thee with comparison.
Vashti (to the court)