Her eyes peered out the glass
window staring into another lonely sunset. Her hand cupped under her chin while
her elbow rested on the counter below her to balance her head as she let out a
subtle sigh, “are you ever coming back?” It had been about a year since the
woman, Bathsheba, saw her husband because he was fighting in a war. The pain of
solitary grew within her every day her husband, Uriah, was gone because she
missed him terribly. But as months went on without his presence, she would
almost forget about him.
One evening, Bathsheba decided to
take a bath on top of her roof. She was completely nude, thinking that her
vulnerability was safe with only nature watching her. Yet, she began to feel
someone watching her as she washed her pale skin. Without moving her head, her
eyes peered down to the castle beside her and saw someone in the window. At
first she was startled but then she began to feel flattered that someone was
taking interest in her.
Bathsheba finished washing her body
then went back in her home to put her clothes on. Then she heard a loud knock on the door and
thought to herself, “who could that be,” she mumbled to herself. Opening the
door, there was a large man asking for her to come with her to the King. Confused
by the request, she followed to the man to the castle until she was alone with
the King in his room.
“I called you here because I saw
you on the roof,” stated the king.
Bathsheba curtsied and kept her
head down from her embarrassment, “I apologize King David, I should have moved
away when I saw someone looking.”
As she spoke, the man moved closer
to her and placed his finger under her chin to lift her head so her eyes would
look into his. “Apologize? You are the most beautiful woman I ever laid my eyes
on.” A soft smile curled on his lips.
Hearing his reply caused the
woman’s heart to skip a beat. No one had given attention to Bathsheba in any
way like that. Just knowing someone looked upon her naked body in such
admiration made her cheeks turn red and lead her to have an affair.
Days go by and Bathsheba and the
king continue to have an intimate relationship. They even took long walks
together, talked for hours, laughed and shared secrets they didn’t tell anyone
else. Bathsheba even began to forget about Uriah especially when she became
pregnant. She had never been so happy before, not even when Uriah was with her.
So when the king proposed to Bathsheba, she immediately said yes. Even though
Bathsheba didn’t know when Uriah would come, she knew that David was the one
she wanted to be with for the rest of her life. So even if Uriah came home,
Bathsheba and the king decided to that they would explain their love for each
other and apologize. She had finally moved on from the year of solitude to a
lifetime of happiness.
Authors note: This is my version of the story in the Bible Women: Bathsheba from the King James Bible (1611): 2 Samuel 11. I kept the original story but it is in the perspective of Bathsheba. In the original story it the King saw Bathsheba bathing while her husband was in the war and they have an affair and she gets pregnant. The part I didn't add was when the King tired to get the husband back home to think it was his baby and he told the King he wanted to keep fighting. The King then told his general to put the husband in the front lines to die so he could marry Bathsheba. While I read the story, I thought it would be interesting to see what Bathsheba was thinking and what made her sleep with the King.
I do like playing with the perspectives of characters that we don't really get to witness in the original works. The story was very good: just the right amount of detail, fine pacing. However, I didn't feel like I got enough background on Bathsheba, or her mindset; her willingness to fall into an affair (not just willfully, but happily!) seems a little unfounded, as if we don't know something else about her: was Uriah abusive? I would just like to see a little bit more build up to everything really, and that would really make this story shine!
ReplyDeleteHello again, Renae! So I have heard this story before, but it was a long time ago. But from what I remember, I must say that I appreciate the change in perspective here. It tells a completely new side of the story, and you accurately depict the emotions of a woman left behind waiting expectantly for a soldier who may never come home. There is so much here that seems doubtful and conflicted--especially in knowing this story is in the Bible--and you wonder how wrong or right Bathsheba's actions are. Great work!
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I realized when I re read this post was that my image information was not correct. I need to write the author and what it is or the title with the source within that information. Also, I have a grammatical error that I could have caught if I proofread out loud. I always seem to write my blogs while I am in the library so I can never really read out loud. Another error I had within the Author’s Note was that the summery of the original story is ready short so I could have extended it. I could have added more details instead of being so vague. I should have just stuck with the style and order of the original story. For example, I could have wrote, “Bathsheba was pregnant with the Kings baby. The King immediately tried to get her husband out of the war so he could think he was the father. But because the husband refused to withdraw for the war, the King had no choice but to put the husband on the front lines of the most brutal battle to then get killed.” Writing with more detail can help the reader to have a better appreciation from how I changed the story.
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