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Week 3 Story (David Becomes Danielle)

The history of Danielle is not one unbeknownst to the common folk. Danielle was sort of a legend in her time and her legendary acts would continue to rest in the minds of generation for years to come. But although Danielle had gained the world, she would soon lose her purity and youth. Just as her story climaxes to its greatest power, Danielle is hit with a great temptation: adultery. Lusting. Danielle, a woman considered royalty in her place was proving to be less of a perfect entity in the eyes of anyone who knew of her wrongdoings. She lusted greedily after a man married to another prominent figure. Benjamin was a married man, who Danielle spotted naked on his roof one dreary afternoon. The clouds in close proximity to the earth were no match for her piercing eyes. Danielle stared fervently, forsaking her purity and inviting evil to take up residence in her mind. She stared without much deviance and only stopped when Benjamin returned inside of his home out of view of Danielle.

Whether Danielle felt contentment or guilt? We'll never know. We can assume that if guilt was to take place it would take years to ring true. For she continued in her wrongdoings for years and years to come. But not without much to pay for it.

When Benjamin's wife died, Danielle used her power and prowess to quickly ask his hand in marriage. Benjamin accepted and the confines of the marriage were quickly solidified in the baring of a child. Danielle became pregnant quickly. Not sparing much time for a newlywed honeymoon phase.

The joy of a new marriage was not a permeant endeavor. Just as fate would decide that the circumstances behind the marriage weren't worth protecting. The child of Danielle and Benjamin died. One of the greatest pains a parent can feel was now amplified because of Danielle's own personal sins. She felt defeated and guilty. Finally, the guilt of her deceit had finally set in.



Author's Notes:
Earlier this week I read the story of Bathsheba. The story was pretty lengthy in its entirety and so for this assignment I found it beneficial to rewrite a specific except that contained the most impactful content to me. The story of David, once a young Goliath defeating warrior to a now lustful, sinful man, is one that is very popular to people even outside of the Christian faith. I thought it might be interesting to look at the story with a different lens.  I decided to switch the genders of David and Bathsheba, changing their names slightly and keeping almost everything else very similar to the original plot. I think it came out well and connects to modern day societal pressures, issues, and conflicts. People might see the story differently solely because of the genders and I think that is a strange phenomenon that is worth exploring. The original story can be found at this link: https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-stories/david-and-bathsheba.html

Bibliography: David. Wives of David. Bathsheba.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David
https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-stories/david-and-bathsheba.html

Comments

  1. Hello Lauryn,

    As you mentioned in your Author's note, it definitely is quite different to read this from a female perspective. When reading through the portion where Danielle was lusting after Benjamin, I completely saw this scene differently than I have before. It was odd because that type of behavior is somewhat normalized for men in our society, so I did not think much of it. Now with the main character as Danielle, this really made me consider how different the standards are for female and male behavior and what is acceptable and not acceptable for each gender.

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  2. Hi Lauryn!
    This was a very creative take on the story of Bathsheba. The character of Danielle was nearly identical to the character of David except for the gender swap, which makes all of the difference. The ending of this story was extremely tragic, so I still couldn't help feeling bad for Danielle at the end of it.
    Great read!

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  3. Hey there Lauren!

    This story was definitely a twist on the original version. In the original, there are multiple failures of King David which lead him to eventually commit adultery. In your story, Danielle’s sin was her adulterous thought, not an actual affair. That’s an interesting route to go with the story.
    Out of curiosity, what made you decide to switch the genders of the characters? Was that meant to be a comment on society back then, or on society now, or was it just a simple way to change the structure of the story?
    Past all that, I thought you did a good job of preserving the moral of the original story and that you emphasized that guilt will not simply fade away.
    All in all, this was a unique read for me. Best of luck as you continue on in the course! Thanks for sharing this story.

    Best,
    - JD

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Lauren! I really enjoyed how you gave an old story a new twist, while still paying homage and respect to the original, which is really cool! Very few stories from this era have women protagonists, so I really appreciate that. What impact do you think the gender reversal has on the story overall and how can you expand on that more in your writing. I would try to include more detail on how the gender change alters the message of the story in some way! Great job overall!

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