Category: theology

By Elizabeth Prata

As a teen and young adult, I loved reading historical epics. Follett’s Pillars of the Earth, Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, Michener’s Hawaii, and of course, Winsor’s Forever Amber.

Forever Amber was written by Kathleen Winsor in 1944. It’s a romance set in Restoration England with historical events as a backdrop, such as the Great Fire of London, the Plague, and the ascension to the throne of King Charles II. It was banned in Boston, but there are no explicit sexual details or graphic scenes, just suggestions, which was enough back then. It is praised for historical accuracy. Amber was a character often likened to Scarlett O’Hara who used her fierce ambition, sensuality, (sexuality, too) to climb to the heights of social standing, acclaim, and wealth.

The book involves Amber pursuing one man, her lifelong love, Bruce, which is unrequited, as his was solely a physical attraction and he viewed Amber as just a mistress, not wife material. It shows Amber’s increasing desperation to reclaim him with a scene near the end of the book of the disappearing dress. As the King’s concubine, Amber had also sensed the King’s interest in her was waning as new court rivals emerged. Knowing Bruce had married a young virgin, Amber decides to capture Bruce and the King’s attention with a unique dress in a desperate attempt to challenge what she believed was her rival and to remain the center of the court’s attention. Amber never accepted that her and Bruce’s relationship was over and had never been substantial to begin with.

Amber is amoral, a literal whore, scheming, and unlikable. So of course at 970 pages the book was a total success. The audio book takes 42 hours.

As to the “Naked Dress” scandal: Near the end of the book in a climactic display of her desperate need for attention and status, Amber attends a court ball in a gown made of real pearls. The dress is designed to gradually “fall apart” as the pearls drop off throughout the evening, eventually leaving her virtually naked—a literal and symbolic representation of her willingness to expose everything to reclaim her unrequited love. It didn’t go as planned. After Amber makes her sweeping entrance, all eyes were indeed on her. The men whistled low, with arched eyebrows. The women sneered. Soon the men did too. Amber had gone too far. From the book:

“But aren’t you cold?” interrupted a feminine voice, and turning swiftly Amber found Mrs. Boynton beside her, looking her over with feline insolence.

Another voice, a man’s this time, came from her other side. “Ods-fish, madame. But this is the greatest display that ever I’ve seen in public since I was weaned.” It was the King, lazy, smiling, obviously amused.
Amber felt suddenly as if she had been hurt inside.

She turned sick with a feeling of horror and self-disgust. What have I done! she thought. Oh, my goodness, what am I doing out here half undressed?

Her eyes swept round the room and every face she saw was secretly smiling, covertly sneering at her. All at once she felt like the person in a dream who sets out confidently to go up-town stark naked, gets halfway there and then realizes his mistake. And, like the dreamer, she wished passionately that she were back home where no one could see her-but to her wild dismay she realized that this time she was caught in her own trap. She could not wake up from this bad dream.
–end quote from the book

At least Amber was ashamed. More on that in a minute.

Display is a good word. Hearing that word, the character of Amber realized what her moral descent had led to, she had descended to displaying the only thing she had left, not character, not wisdom, not gentility, not decorum, but her very flesh.

The 67th Annual Grammy Awards just concluded the other day. I did not watch it. I am out of step with today’s music, and frankly, shocked at the outfits. Or, should I say, lack of them. Literally. One male musician performed in silky boxers only. Some women bared nearly all. Class is out of style. Don’t go looking for the costumes worn at this event, they are un-edifying to pass before your eyes.

The Grammy event showed a lot of displays. If one ever wanted to see a stark realization of where this society is on the moral-immorality scale, this event is it. Lots and lots of ‘Ambers’ parading around naked. I mean, naked. Flesh displayed for all to see, in desperate attempts at what? To retain attention? To prop up one’s mistaken notion of empowerment? To bolster self-esteem? It is disgusting and a reminder that modesty is God’s command. Worse, there was barely a murmur from the press about the licentiousness. If ever there was a society that needed to look at where their immorality has descended to, this is it.

I am truly amazed to see where we are now compared to when I was young. I remember when ‘short shorts’ AKA hot pants were controversial. In 1970 they came into fashion, but a few years later extremely short hot pants had become shorthand for prostitution, particularly underage prostitution.

“Asked in 1971 to explain the popularity of hot pants, a male psychiatrist based in Manhattan borrowed language from the contemporary women’s liberation movement to suggest that they were “an expression of the female’s new freedom.” ~Girl Culture [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia by by Claudia Mitchell (Editor), Jacqueline Reid-Walsh.

The world’s version of ‘freedom’ for women is parading around in flesh. God’s version of freedom is His eternal gift of freedom from the slavery of sin, which nakedness is one of those sins.

Empowered women do not shamelessly dangle their flesh in front of a global audience. Empowered women are powered by the Holy Spirit, on whom she relies. Her meek spirit, her gentle wisdom, her steady encouragements of her husband and children are entirely the attraction. Flesh is flesh. It will wither and die. The lasting contribution of a woman is not her paraded nakedness, but her modesty in apparel and her modest attitude.

I truly feel terrible for those women (and man) who came to a global event to celebrate music, creativity, and showmanship wearing their flesh as the display. God made humans in His image, and as image bearers they know not what they do when they uncover themselves.

Remember Noah, drunk and naked in his tent? (Genesis 9:20-24). Noah’s son Ham went in, saw his drunken naked father, and in delight, chortling, went out to tell his brothers and show them. What dishonor! To revel in someone else’s shame!

“Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk So as to look on their nakedness!” (Habakkuk 2:15 LSB).

Ham father of Canaan was cursed for his dishonor. We must not delight in another’s nakedness.

Just as in Forever Amber, Bruce never considered Amber marriage material, she was too willing to use her flesh and display it to anyone who could get her further along in her agenda. Ladies, make sure what you display is what God wants: a meek and quiet spirit, with clothing.