Morning Thanks

Garrison Keillor once said we'd all be better off if we all started the day by giving thanks for just one thing. I'll try.

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

 


I'm not sure why B is drying herself off in this illustration; she's clearly fully clothed. I'd guess this image is Sunday School art, the two of them on flannelgraph. This one is a G--for general audiences, although she appears to be conscious of the king's attentions.

David is a youngun' here, and B is barely visible in a street below. It's an interesting image, emphasizing David's being Israel's king, but it runs away from communicating anything at all about the story. It's another G-rated.

Here's a PG-13. David's mad frenzy is shown in the way he hangs onto the wall for support. I like that. But B is fully clothed. I can't help think that's cheating.

I'd call this one PG-13 too because both are fully clothed. David walking right into the bath is a nice idea, but she's bathing in her underclothes? Too sweet for an R. She looks remarkably compliant--was she?

Another PG-13. B is totally unconscious about her being in the King's vision. His being aways away, I like. He's perched up in a window frame over her left shoulder, looks perfectly at ease with ogling her, even though he's the King.


Here's an R, B is mostly naked and D is up on the next-door roof, leaning over a bit as if to get a better view. Is that his harp in his hands? B has five chambermaids, which is okay, I guess, but I've always thought of she and her husband as among the working class.


Here's another R, given the full frontal nudity. David is clearly peaking--he doesn't want to be seen even though he can't look away, and B is seeming totally unconscious of his eyes. Meanwhile, few illustrations capture his guilt; here, it's on display. He's ravaged by her body--that had to be true.


Another R--all that nudity. You have to look close, but in the building behind her David stands, a floor or two up, barely visible. I'm no expert on OT bathing rituals, but B seems completely oblivious to stopping traffic with her naked self. One of the difficult questions about the story is whether or not Bathsheba was a willing participant. This image suggests that she knew nothing of David's overheated attention.


Another R. David appears to be plotting out the sin that's already got hold of him. B is, at least, in theory compliant, conscious of her sexuality. They're both in on what's about to occur, even though she is likely unsure of the temperature of David's lust.


This is a nice shot, but it has none of the guilt and shame. Both are guilty--which is, of course, one way to read the story of their sin.

Interesting stuff.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yes, I have also wondered upon occasion about Bathsheba‘s possible compliance, although I know it’s not a positive conjecture in a “me-to” movement culture. Truth is, some women are drawn to position and power (Marple/Trump) and it makes you wonder if she knew quite well, given the proximity of her open-air roof to David’s palace, that she wanted to be seen. Whatever the case, one thing obviously led to another, and the rest, as they say, is history.