Trailofstardust
Scribe
I've got the idea for a story loosely by "the book of Esther" from the Hebrew bible; they share some similar story beats and parallels, but it's meant to be my own story.
The story takes place in 16-or 17th century Sweden and follows a huldra who has been captured and enslaved by a landed gentleman who dabbled in witchcraft to gain wealth and power. Using magic, he forces her to act as his perfect, obedient wife and views her as a status symbol. One day, he throws a banquet for the local nobility meant to show off his wealth and gaining prestige, and he demands that the huldra show up to show off his beautiful wife. She refuses, resulting in him punishing her which is the final straw. She escapes, fleeing into the forest which was her home. But despite her newfound freedom she still isn't satisfied; she wants revenge on the gentleman for his abuse of her.
After some time, the gentleman remarries; the bride is a girl from a noble family who have fallen on hard times and need the wealth. Learning this, the huldra sees an opportunity and seeks to befriend the girl as part of her revenge scheme. But they soon develop feelings for each other and the huldra wants to free her from an abusive marriage.
The story will deal with themes of abuse, misogyny, the madonna-whore complex, victim-blaming and sexual freedom.
"The book of Esther" has an important meaning for a lot of jewish people, so I want to know if my idea is disrespectful since it doesn't involve judaism or jewish people in any way. Part of my motivation for writing it comes from wanting a happy ending for Vashti from the book of Esther.
I've considered naming the huldra "Mashti" which is the name of an Elamite goddess and probably the inspiration for Vashti's name, and the girl as "Ellen" which is almost like "Ester", but I'm afraid that it would be too close to appropriation.
The story takes place in 16-or 17th century Sweden and follows a huldra who has been captured and enslaved by a landed gentleman who dabbled in witchcraft to gain wealth and power. Using magic, he forces her to act as his perfect, obedient wife and views her as a status symbol. One day, he throws a banquet for the local nobility meant to show off his wealth and gaining prestige, and he demands that the huldra show up to show off his beautiful wife. She refuses, resulting in him punishing her which is the final straw. She escapes, fleeing into the forest which was her home. But despite her newfound freedom she still isn't satisfied; she wants revenge on the gentleman for his abuse of her.
After some time, the gentleman remarries; the bride is a girl from a noble family who have fallen on hard times and need the wealth. Learning this, the huldra sees an opportunity and seeks to befriend the girl as part of her revenge scheme. But they soon develop feelings for each other and the huldra wants to free her from an abusive marriage.
The story will deal with themes of abuse, misogyny, the madonna-whore complex, victim-blaming and sexual freedom.
"The book of Esther" has an important meaning for a lot of jewish people, so I want to know if my idea is disrespectful since it doesn't involve judaism or jewish people in any way. Part of my motivation for writing it comes from wanting a happy ending for Vashti from the book of Esther.
I've considered naming the huldra "Mashti" which is the name of an Elamite goddess and probably the inspiration for Vashti's name, and the girl as "Ellen" which is almost like "Ester", but I'm afraid that it would be too close to appropriation.