Another set of prominent themes in the Megilla is nature (there is nothing supernatural in the text) and subversion (9:1).
By nature, in the story, men use the power of government to oppress women (1:20) and minorities (3:8). The Megilla portrays this nature as being subverted by the power of love (of adopted father for daughter and husband for wife), family (4:14) faith/community (4:16) and, not incidentally -- it's the name of the holiday -- chance, or fortune. While the power of government can be used to oppress, it cannot, in the end, be used to protect. Only the assertion of something like "stand your ground"/second amendment rights (8:11) can do that.
The most subversive teachings of Purim come from the Rabbis of the Talmud. They teach that the story of Purim resulted in acceptance of Halachic Law. In other words, that fidelity to the Law is not properly ground in either miracles or rational reflection. And their teaching that Purim will be one of the few holidays celebrated after the ultimate redemption, may be a lesson less about Purim than the nature of redemption.
