Fiction
Susanna’s beauty disturbed
the men’s sleep. Both Shimon and Moshe
were of an age that usually tempered the passions. Moreover, they were responsible leaders of
the community. Shimon was a rabbi and
Moshe was an exegete. If bald head was
the sign of one man’s wisdom, grey hairs proclaimed the sagacity of the other. Susanna had never expected them to do this.
Painting: Guido Reni |
“Mate with us,” they told
her bluntly. “Or else we will bring
charges of adultery against you and get you stoned to death as per the law.”
Susanna had just finished
her bath in the pool. She had sent away
her maids as usual and ordered them to lock the gates. She didn’t want even her maids to see her
bathing. Her body was her private
property which even the maids should not see.
Only Joachim, her husband, had access to it. That was how Yahweh had ordained it from the
time of Adam who exclaimed upon seeing Eve, “The bone of my bones! The flesh of my flesh!”
People like Shimon and
Moshe encroached upon that sacred space belonging entirely to the couple from
the time of creation and shed their lust there in the form of laws and
rubrics. Eve was the first victim of
their lust. Their lust rushed like a
cascade into her very being and impregnated her with the sinfulness of the
entire human race.
“I’d rather die than let
lecherous hypocrites like you touch my body,” Susanna spat out as she grabbed
for her clothes standing on the steps of the pool.
“It will be a painful
death,” declared Shimon.
“The entire community will
pelt stones at you,” chanted Moshe.
“They will deride you,”
sang Shimon.
“You will bring ignominy
on Joachim and his noble family,” persuaded Moshe.
Susanna put on her clothes
and pulled the veil upon her face. “Have
your entertainment, you elders. Get the
men to stone me to death.”
Neither Moshe nor Shimon
wanted the death of such a beautiful woman.
Beauty is to be relished and not stoned to death. The beauty of the female body is a property
that belongs to the man like all other properties. To the law-making man. Thou
shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, servants, animals, or property. Susanna, you are forgetting the place we have
assigned to you. Along with the
servants, animals and properties. Come
and lie down, woman, with us in the shade of the evergreen oak and the aroma of
the mastic bushes and feed us with the beauty that overflows like the wine in
the season of harvest. We had spent days and weeks peeping at your
beauty through the bushes. We discovered
the secret ways to your garden. Now your
beauty has become a pain in our veins.
Soothe our veins, Susanna, as only you can.
Susanna’s lips contorted with
despise. The men could not see the
contempt, however, for her face was veiled.
But the contempt penetrated the carapace of their souls and stirred up
vengeance since there was nothing else to be stirred there.
Shimon and Moshe, rabbi
and exegete, respected elders of the community, rushed like frenzied men to the
gate of the garden and pulled down the lock.
“Listen, O Israel,” they proclaimed their gospel. Susanna became the adulteress in that
gospel. Shimon and Moshe metamorphosed into
the guardians of morality. In the gospel, the middle-aged Susanna was made to
squirm under the passionate kisses of a handsome young man.
Envying the young man
bitterly, the people gathered stones eagerly.
They had demanded the unveiling of the woman’s face. The radiant beauty of that face had blinded
them. It filled their veins with the
rush of lustful blood. Their lust turned
into stones.
Joachim sobbed
helplessly. He knew the truth. He knew how helpless truth was. He knew how truths were fabricated.
“Where are you, Yahweh,
always so particular about justice?” Susanna asked in her heart. But she didn’t expect any answer. An answer surprised her, however.
“I am innocent of the
blood of this woman,” a shout arose from the crowd.
“Who said that?” demanded
Moshe.
“I.” A young man stepped out. No, not even a man. A boy who was just steeping out of
adolescence.
“My name is Daniel.” His voice was sonorous and his face radiated
innocence. “Listen, O Israel.” And the people were drawn to him
magically. “Are you going to commit a
murder merely because of the words of these two relics of wicked days? The sins committed by these two men are now
coming back home to them.”
Daniel demanded a just
trial. The people shouted their
assent. It was the first time they were
seeing someone who had the courage to question the elders.
Daniel arranged the
trial. Each man would be questioned
separately and then the people could pass the verdict.
“Under which tree did you
see Susanna committing adultery with the young man as you claimed?”
“Under the slender mastic plant,”
professed Moshe.
“Under the huge evergreen
oak,” declared Shimon.
The people shouted in
anger. “Stone them to death.”
Joachim hugged Susanna as
lovingly as the law permitted. A little
more tightly, in fact. Because the law
was busy punishing its guardians.
PS. The story is adapted from the Bible, the Book
of Daniel, chapter 13.
The illustration is a painting by Guido Reni, 17th century Italian artist.
Beautiful story with a good moral teaching. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ravish.
DeleteA beautiful story with an important lesson
ReplyDeleteThe story is quite true to the Biblical original though I have given a stronger character to Susanna.
DeleteI was so happy to read the ending!
ReplyDeleteThere's romance in the ending in spite of irony and sarcasm.
DeleteWell narrated story. The 'contempt' that Susanna felt but could not show because she was 'veiled' shows again how a woman is denied her 'humanity, the fact that she can have a 'will' of her own. The fact that Daniel 'questions' is a sign of the new voice. He is nearing the rebellious age of adolescence, an age which wants to break old rules. And in this case, this happens for a good cause.
ReplyDeleteReal rebellion is when it happens for a good cause. Albert Camus defined rebellion as saying No to one system only to go on to create an alternate system. Without that creation, rebellion would be mere destruction and negativity. Daniel became a hero because of his affirmation of values which the elders were destroying.
DeleteThe woman's situation has not improved much even today. The veil might have fallen in many societies, but attitudes haven't changed much.
Beautiful story with a message! The attitudes haven't changed much...so true! The painting is superb!
ReplyDeleteWill the attitudes ever change? I wonder. Power is a basic instinct for some people and it is easy to wield it over certain sections of people.
Delete