History Characters / BookOfEsther

* HateSink: Haman possibly [[TropeCodifier lays the groundwork]] for characters who are designed to be loathed as much as possible, considering his [[ItsAllAboutMe narcissism]], [[AmbitionIsEvil ambition]], and [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain anti-Semitism]]. Haman forces citizens to bow to him, and is suggested to have embroidered a graven image into his clothing, essentially forcing them to worship an Idol. When his fellow advisor, Mordecai the Judean, refuses to bow for this reason, Haman plots a genocide against the Jewish people, as well as personally building a gallows for Mordecai when the latter still refuses to bow. It is telling that a near universal custom when reading Megillat Ester (the Hebrew name of the work) is to jeer at least when Haman's name is first and last mentioned, making him an odd religiously significant version of a character meant to draw ire from the audience.

* GoodChancellor: Most tellings have him being given Haman's old job as the king's right hand man.

* WhatHaveIDone: Regrets sending Vashti away, but once a RoyalDecree was made in Ancient Persia, there was no taking it back.

[[WMG:King Ahasuerus/Emperor Xerxes]]

[[WMG: Queen Vashti]]

[[WMG: Queen Esther]]

[[WMG: Mordecai the Judean]]

[[WMG: Haman[[labelnote:*]][[AudienceParticipation Booooooo!]][[/labelnote]] the Agagite]]

[[WMG: Charvona]]

[[WMG: Zeresh]]

* MsFanservice: Averted; her husband asked her to come to his banquet to show her off, but she refused

* DisproportionateRetribution: Vashti refusing to appear before his guests results in him kicking her out of the place and issuing an edict declaring that the father is the head of the family and the one whose language should be learned by his children.
** To be fair, that was because he caved to pressure from his advisors. On the other hand, it's not like he ''had'' to make that choice.

%%* HeadTurningBeauty: And how.

%%* HotConsort

%%** RagsToRoyalty

%%* EvilChancellor

* HumiliationConga: Haman's comeuppance is a fairly epic one. First he has to give an elaborate parade to publicly honor his hated rival Mordechai, due to a misunderstanding where Haman was expecting himself to be the honoree. Then his fancy dinner with the king and queen turns out to be a trap to expose him as the villain. Then when he tries to plead for his life, the king [[NotWhatItLooksLike assumes he's trying to assault the queen]]. He winds up literally HoistByHisOwnPetard on the gallows he built for Mordechai. You almost feel sorry for the guy. Almost.

* {{Jerkass}}: Oh boy. It takes a special kind of awful to want to wipe out an entire group of people over a petty slight.

* PsychopathicManchild: [[ExaggeratedTrope An extreme example]]. Even for a chancellor, Haman is basically a SpoiledBrat all grown-up, being [[SmugSnake beyond arrogant]], [[ItsAllAboutMe egotistical]], [[DirtyCoward cowardly]], having fits when things don't go his way, and most egregious of all, his [[EvilIsPetty reason]] for attempting [[FinalSolution genocide]] being that his rival refused to [[KneelBeforeZod bow to him]]. What ultimately sells it though, is his VillainousBreakdown mentioned below that is nothing but a massive, deranged temper tantrum he throws just like any child would.

* {{Guile Hero}}ine: Used her wits and good looks to save the Jews from Haman.

* DeathOfAChild / WidowWoman: By the end of the story, her husband and all her sons have been killed.

* BiblicalBadGuy: One of the very baddest, for being the first to propose a FinalSolution against the Jews.

* PsychopathicManchild: [[ExaggeratedTrope An extreme example]]. Even for a chancellor, Haman is basically a SpoiledBrat all grown-up, being [[SmugSnake beyond arrogant]], [[ItsAllAboutMe egotistical]], [[DirtyCoward cowardly]], having fits when things don't go his way, and most egregious of all, his [[EvilIsPetty reason]] for attempting [[FinalSolution genocide]] being that his rival refused to [[KneelBeforeZod bow to him]]. What ultimately sells it though, is his VillainousBreakdown mentioned below that is nothing but a massive, deranged temper tantrum he throws just like a child would.

[[Characters/BookOfGenesis Genesis]] | [[Characters/BookOfExodus Exodus through Deuteronomy]] | [[Characters/BookOfJudges Judges]] | [[Characters/BooksOfSamuel Samuel]] | [[Characters/BooksOfKings Kings]] | '''Esther''' | [[Characters/BookOfJob Job]] | [[Characters/TheFourGospels Matthew through John]] | [[Characters/ActsOfTheApostles Acts]]]]-]]]

* DeathOfAChild / WidowWoman: By the end of the story, her husband and all her sons have been executed by Xerxes.

* EvilChancellor: Just like Haman himself was an evil chancellor to Xerxes, Zeresh served as an evil chancellor to Haman. It was her idea to erect the massive gallows for Mordecai which was ultimately used on Haman.

* TheElitesJumpShip: Another interpretation is that Charnova was part of Haman's faction but realized that the king was about to destroy them, so he publicly flipped and backstabbed Haman in order to avoid the king's wrath.

* ElitesJumpShip: Another interpretation is that Charnova was part of Haman's faction but realized that the king was about to destroy them, so he publicly flipped and backstabbed Haman in order to avoid the king's wrath.

** One interpretation notes that Xerxes acts capriciously throughout the story: he banishes Vashti but then immediately regrets it, he pledges to reward Mordecai but then puts it off for several years, and so on. This raises the possibility that, just as his mood rapidly changed towards Vashti and Mordecai, it might also have changed towards Haman; Xerxes was furious with Haman at the moment but may well have reconsidered later. Charvona's pushing the king to immediately execute Haman, therefore, prevented Haman from being saved by another of Xerses's mood swings and then remaining a threat to the Jews.

* DeathByIrony / HoistByHisOwnPetard: Hanged on his own gallows that were built for Mordechai.

* EvilChancellor