I agree totally with Marc. In fact, I was shocked to read these extra-Biblical interpretations of what happened with Vashti.
Herodotus, the Greek historian explains that his was no mere drinking party with his buddies. That is interpreting Scripture through the lens of western culture. Instead, the interesting fact is that the Persians drank as they deliberated matters of state.
"Moreover, the Persians custom to deliberate about the gravest matters of state when they are drunk and what they approve in their counsels is proposed to them the next day by the master of the house where they deliberate, when they are now sober, and if being sober they still approve it, they act thereon about a matter when sober, they decide upon it when they are drunk."
This custom may seem bizarre to us, but the ancients believed intoxication put them in closer touch with the spiritual world. If Herodotus is right on this point, excessive drinking would have been an essential element of Xerxes' war council.
And if Xerxes was deliberating with his war council, the refusal of his own queen to obey his command (as a King, not a husband) he must have been extremely embarrassing. No wonder Xerxes became furious and burned with anger! He need his men to obey his commands as they went to war, but in his own palace he could not even get his own wife to obey!
Further, the author of the book of Esther views Vashti specifically as the Queen, not the wife who refuses. The political ramifications of her decision foreshadow that of the role of her successor, Esther. The author does not label Vashti as the rebellious wife nor does he evaluate her refusal as good or bad, right or wrong. Interpreters should also resist the temptation to build an interpretation by imposing such judgments.
The ambiguity of Vashti's actions and motives must be allowed to stand as the deliberate intention of the author, for he could have easily supplied an interpretation. The author instead, refrains from commenting not only on Vashti's behaviour and motives, but also does not supply an evaluation for any of the people in the story. This ambiguity is not a problem to be overcome to interpret the text, but is part of the literary fabric of the story!
Please note the author does not fault the king for drinking, nor does he commend or condemn Vashti for refusing to appear at the king's command. The ethical and moral ambiguity of the characters is an important element in the story and is particularly appropriate to its meaning and application for divine providence works through human behaviour that flows even from the most ambiguous and confused of motives.
As for Vashti's fate, all scripture says is that she was never allowed to go into the presence of the king again.
"If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she." Esther 1:19
There is no mention of her death, any more than the command to appear can be construed as her appearing naked before the king. Ironically, the statement in verse 19 is published throughout the empire. So Vashti's disobedience, instead of being a warning, actually publicizes the king's embarrassing plight, and orders what the king could not accomplish in his own palace, that:
"all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike.” Esther 1:20.
The author is using parody and humour to introduce the Persian powers that came treacherously close to extinguishing the Jewish people. Why humour in a book that recounts a deadly serious threat to the Jews?
It is obvious that the author of Esther can write this story with humour, expecting his readers to appreciate it, because it is written several generations after the deliverance of the Jews by God through Esther and Mordecai. Time must pass before one can look back on a bad situation and appropriately laugh at it. Thus, although the threat to the Jews was serious, time proved it was not real!