Joseph, son of Jacob: A Brother's Revenge
(Yeah, it's that Joseph. The Genisis one. For those bible buffs out there, or anyone familiar with the Lloyd Webber musical, this internal monolouge takes place directly after he has accused Benjamin of stealing a golden cup when the brothers come to Egypt for food.)
He's my brother.
My little baby brother, now kneeling in front of me, begging forgiveness for a crime he didn't commit, a crime I framed him for.
Little Benjamin, but now, God of gods, so grown! But still the innocent. My pure flesh-and-blood.
The one who killed my mother.
Yes, there's a trail of thought to cling to, to harden my heart against him, to allow me to use him as a tool to punish the rest of my brothers for their evil past deeds. Rachel, my mother, died in childbirth with him, after all. She named him Ben-oni, child of sorrow, though Jacob obviously did not even have the heart to grant her her last wish...
But how can I guiltlessly blame an infant for that crime? Especially one who grew into my favorite brother and closest friend...
But he's as guilty as the rest of them. He stood by and allowed me to be sold into slavery, objectionless. Why should I, the second most powerful man in Egypt, falter at giving him the punishment he deserves, that they all deserve?
Look at them all, kneeling and groveling to me as I warned them they would one day. Look at Ruben, the heir apparent of the family, servile to the second-youngest. And Simion and Levi, their arrogance and quick tempers cooled beneath my powerful foot. They would have killed me with their bare hands those seventeen years ago without a drop of remorse for destroying the life of a sibling.
No, of two siblings.
Dinah...Good God, Dinah. How I would love to speak to her again. When I left she was still shaken, half mad. If they continued to make her life a living hell for something that was far from her fault, then let them all rot as they deserve.
But if they have not...If she has been able to move on and live again...how wonderful it would be to see her. And to talk to Benjamin, find out how he's been, how they have all been. And father...Seventeen years. I want my family back...
He's crying now…Adonoi, Baruh Atah, I can't do this. They cannot suffer as I did, no matter how much they may deserve it. I must end this charade now.
"Gentlemen, get up. There's something I need to tell you..."