History Characters / BookOfEsther

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

* InformedJudaism: Her Jewishness is a major plot point, but she apparently passed as a non-Jew well enough that her own husband was surprised to find out her nationality.

* BeautyEqualsGoodness

* HelloNurse: And how.

* HotConsort

* PluckyGirl
* RagsToRiches
** RagsToRoyalty

* ForgotICouldChangeTheRules: {{Averted}}. Once a rule is put into the law of the Medes and Persians, the king can ''not'' change it.

* VillainousBreakdown: Cried to his wife when he found out Mordechai was to be honored for uncovering a conspiracy years before. He also spent his last moments [[VillainsWantMercy begging Esther for mercy]]. [[MistakenForMurderer It causes the king to think he's assaulting her]].

* 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 this trope.

* HateSink: Haman is possibly the UrExample of a character who is 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 this trope.

[[WMG:King Ahasuerus]]

* HotConsort

%% * PoliticallyIncorrectVillain

%%* SmugSnake

* VillainousBreakdown: Cried to his wife when he found out Mordechai was to be honored for uncovering a conspiracy years before. He also spent his last moments begging Esther for mercy. [[MistakenForMurderer It causes the king to think he's assaulting her]].

[[WMG: Mordechai]]

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

* SmugSnake
* UnPerson: During ancient celebrations of Purim, people would bring stones or slabs of wood with Haman's name on them. When he is mentioned the audience would use chisels and hammers to deface his name.
** This is also ostensibly the reason that, in modern celebrations of Purim, AudienceParticipation responds to his name with boos and jeers and loud noisemakers.
* VillainousBreakdown: Cried to his wife when he found out Mordechai was to be honored for uncovering a conspiracy years before.
** He also spent his last moments begging Esther for mercy. [[MistakenForMurderer It causes the king to think he's assaulting her]].

* OriginalPositionFallacy: Provided a splendid example when he suggested an elaborate public ceremony to celebrate "someone whom the king delights to honor", thinking that he was going to be the honoree. Turned out the parade was for ''Mordechai'', and Haman had to do the honors for his hated rival.

* MortonsFork: Refuse to make a naked appearance at your husband's party and be punished (possibly executed) for disobeying him (i.e. treason), or make the naked appearance and be punished (possibly executed) for letting men who aren't your husband ogle you (i.e. treason)? Decisions, decisions...

[[WMG: Haman]]

* YamatoNadeshiko

** He also spent his last moments begging Esther for mercy. [[MistakenForMurderer It causes the king to think he's assaulting her]].

* ParentalSubstitute: He took care of Esther after her parents died when she was a little girl
** WifeHusbandry: [[AvertedTrope Averted]], as he should have married her per the Jewish rules but didn't do so.
*** I'm not sure that's how the kinsman redeemer rules work. Esther's parents died when she was a child and Esther 2 says that Mordechai pretty much adopted his cousin, ensuring that Esther was taken care of.

* SuddenlyEthnicity: The audience knows she's Jewish all along, but she keeps it so secret that her own husband doesn't know until the big reveal.

* DisproportionateRetribution: Tried to have Mordechai hanged just because he refused to bow to him.
** Also tried to exterminate the entire Hebrew race just because one Jew refused to kneel to him.