Britta sees Vashti during the Rosalyn Trust competition and views her as a snobbish, spoilt young woman, disdainful toward those around her. Most of the other candidates dislike her, but know that she will most likely become a finalist and set sail on board the Star of Deltora. In the initial testing of the Rosalyn Trust competition, Vashti receives an interview and later is announced as a finalist. Because Vashti, Jewel, Sky and Britta all scored evenly in their interviews, they were set an additional test by Mab and given one gold coin each to trade with in Del, and the most valuable item would win. Before going on the test, however, Vashti wrote a note for her parents where she claimed that "calm and firmness" would make her succeed. This was a code to let them know that she would use the shop Carme & Furness to win. During the additional test Mab sets Jewel, Sky, Vashti and Britta, Vashti does well, trading her gold coin for a splendid carved leather belt from Carme & Furness worth three gold pieces. Vashti, along with Jewel, Britta and Sky, sets sail on board the Star of Deltora at dawn.[1]
Two Moons
The Towers of Illica
The Hungry Isle
Physical appearance
Vashti is fair-haired, with a pretty, heart-shaped face. She has slanted blue eyes and a small rosebud mouth.[1]
Personality
Vashti is spoiled and disdainful, particularly towards others such as Jewel and Britta, and appears to share the prejudice most of Del feel toward outsiders. She is intelligent and able to spell and solve math and other puzzles, and snubs other people who cannot do what she can do. She is vain and superficial and takes her good life and knowledge for granted. Although she appear confident, she has some insecurities, as she does not believe she can win in a fair fight, and she is not below cheating to get what she wants. She can also be cunning, knowing when not to disclose information, as seen when she wrote her coded message to her parents before starting the additional test to lower the number of finalists of the Rosalyn Trust competition when she tied with four Candidates. She enjoyed needing her companions on the voyage on board the Star of Deltora, showing off her superior trading, sailing and geographical knowledge, and making the less enlightened contestants feel like less, although it was often built on her prejudicial view of the people she did it to. She also found pleasure in trying to lure the others into trouble, attempting to put them out of the contest, which is a quality that the other finalists used to justify that she did not feel as confident as she tried to appear.[1][2] Although she had by no means become a friend to Britta by the end of their voyage together, after escaping from the Hungry Isle, Vashti volunteered to take a turn at the oars of their rowboat, showing that the trip might have humbled her slightly. Britta further suggests that Vashti could indeed be a good trader, if her father would stop pressuring her for success on his terms.
Abilities
As Vashti is a trader's daughter, she has some skill in trading.[1]
Relationships
Vashti is disliked by most of the other candidates because of her snobbish and disdainful attitude.[1]
The name "Vashti" is Persian and means "goodness" or "beautiful". It is possibly a reference to Queen Vashti, a figure in the Jewish and Christian faith who appear in the "Book of Esther", the third section of the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible). Vashti was the queen of Persia and the wife of King Ahasuerus. One day she refused to dance naked in front of him and was banished. Another woman, Esther, became Ahasuerus' wife and queen. In the Midrash, the genre of rabbinic literature which contains early interpretations and commentaries on the Written Torah and Oral Torah, Vashti is described as "wicked and vain", but she has become a hero and icon in feminist versions of the tale.
