In Esther, families need to stick together. Esther and Mordecai are a good example of this—they aid one another and their kin. Haman's family, on the other hand, is less cohesive. His wife gives him stupid advice like "Build a super-huge gallows" and then tells him to give up for dead when things don't really go his way. In the end, all of Haman's family ends up getting killed too. But the good family bond between Esther and Mordecai helps sustain things.
Also, there's King Ahasuerus—a pretty bad example of a family man until Esther arrives on the scene. He tries to show Queen Vashti off to his subjects like a shiny new car. That's pretty tacky stuff, right there. But after he picks Esther as his queen, we can assume he's on his way to being less of a doofus.
Questions About Family
- What kind of family bond do Esther and Mordecai have? What's the nature of the love between them?
- How do Haman's family members relate to him? Even though Haman's the bad guy, is there evidence of any love there?
- What kind of dad do you think King Ahasuerus would make?
- What about Mordecai—what kind of dad would he be?