Jezebel
Gladys Malvern wrote several girls’ YA novels on religious themes. Many of them focused on biblical characters {Ruth in The Foreigner, Esther in Behold Your Queen, the little girl Jesus rose from the dead in Tamar}. After hearing several “alleged Christians” make incorrect allusions to Jezebel, I’ve thought seriously about doing a Malvernesque YA novel about Jezebel. She was neither a witch nor a harlot, soon anyone using her name as putdown should at least read enough of the Bible to know who she was. Jezebel, daughter of Ithobaal I of Sidon, wife of Ahab, son of Omri, mother of Ahaziah, Jehoram, and Athaliah, the woman who died when she was thrown out of the window, whose body was eaten by dogs.
Would there be a market for such a YA novel?
We were asked to do a character sketch for a writer’s workshop my son and I attended recently. I did Jezebel, since I’d begun some preliminary research on her. Here it is:
Jezebel was a princess of Phoenicia and a priestess of Baal. When she married Ahab of Israel, she was disappointed that she married beneath herself. She knew from the cradle that her marriage would serve the Phoenician Empire. Ahab was hardly more than a desert chieftain. Her goal was to bring the Israelites back to the worship of Baal, and to make sure trade flowed and filled the imperial coffers. Sure, she wears jewels (as a symbol of her rank — she deserves respect). Yes, her wardrobe is large, and a silk gown dyed in Tyrian purple cost more than an Israelite farmer earned in 5 years. Her makeup and beauty treatmeants are to ensure she looks her best — as a symbol and servant of Baal. She feeds 400 priests at her table to demonstrate the power of Phoenicia. Elijah eats locusts and crumbs dropped by ravens. He wears goatskins. How does that reflect on his God? She is Queen of Israel, Princess of Phoenicia, and Priestess of Baal, and don’t you forget it!
Jezebel knew every luxury except privacy. Her entire life she had been surrounded by slaves and courtiers: maidservants and eunuchs to wait upon her, guards to protect her, minstrels and dancers too entertain her, and sages to instruct her.
