In Aderet Eliyahu (Sefer Devarim) the Gaon of Vilna discusses those who are blessed and those who are cursed. It might well be that one who is blessed has a very hard time in the beginning. However, in the end, he will arrive at the good.

On the other hand, one who is cursed may, at first, have many years of seeming prosperity and happiness. However, his end will be bitter.

This description is exactly applicable to Mordechai and Haman. At first, Mordechai went through a lot of hard times. He was exiled several times from the Land of Israel. He raised Esther to greatness, especially in yirat shamayim, and behold, she was taken to be defiled by an uncircumcised villain. And then the trouble with Haman....

However, in the end he was dressed in malchut (kingship, i.e., the clothing and attributes of G-d's Kingship), his fame and greatness increased continuously, and finally he merited to eternal goodness.

On the other hand, Haman was a person who apparently attained every success in the world at first. He had wealth, honor, children and power. Because he was angry with one person, he had the power to decide to destroy an entire nation. Everybody bowed down to him and prostrated themselves before him. However, in the end, he suffered terrible shame.

Moreover, their change of fortunes occurred to both of them in the space of a few hours!

Learn from here the blessing of the tzadikim, and the curse of the wicked.

"And Charbona shall also be remembered for good." Charbona was Haman's assistant throughout the course of the latter's wicked plans and devices. Charbona might have continued with Haman until the bitter end. However, when he saw the hand of G-d's Providence, he repented, and said, "...Behold, here also is the tree" (Esther 7:9).

In this respect, Charbona symbolizes the entire generation of that time. Because he repented he is also remembered for good, like all the tzadikim, and this is true for that entire generation. After the events described in the Megillah, they were all on the level of ba'alai teshuvah.

Furthermore, according to some commentators, Charbona is the prophet Eliyahu. We are accustomed to say after mentioning the name of Eliyahu, "may he be remembered for good," as is the case here with Charbona. The identity is indicated here in order to remind ourselves that the story of Purim is a story of miraculous change directed by the supernatural intervention of G-d. (Yalkut Lekach Tov)

It is told that when the Maharsha was the Rabbi of the town of Ostra many Torah scholars came to live in the city because of his presence there. Consequently, Ostra was rapidly becoming a center of Torah, and it was decided to establish a new yeshivah in the city.

It was the custom to auction the honor of laying the cornerstone of the new building, and the person who purchased this honor would have his name inscribed on the stone as well. The people of the city were joined by wealthy donors from all over the province for the purpose of this ceremony.

One of the righteous and simple people of the town approached the gabbai who was in charge of the auction. He informed him that he wants to purchase the cornerstone at any price. However, he stipulated that he does not want anyone in the town to know that he is the donor.

During the auction, when the last bid for the cornerstone was made, the gabbai called out a new bid of 500 rubles. This was the top bid, and everyone was curious about who the donor was. However, the man did not appear to lay the cornerstone, and he also did not ask to have his name inscribed upon it. Instead, the Maharsha was honored.

The Maharsha himself was curious about the identity of the anonymous donor. Finally, the gabbai brought the man to the house of the Maharsha. There the man explained to the Rabbi that he was not rich, and he even had to mortgage his property to provide the donation. However, he had no children, and he hoped that the merit of his charity for the new yeshivah in Ostra would change his fate.

When the Maharsha heard this, he blessed the man that on the merit of his mitzvah he shall have a son; and not only that, the Maharsha said, but that son will merit to study in this yeshivah.

Thus, this righteous and simple man was blessed with a son, and when the child was older he brought the boy to be enrolled in the yeshivah. The administrators of the yeshivah did not want to accept the boy. They said that he was too young to be enrolled in a yeshivah gedolah. The man then went to the Maharsha who recognized him and remembered the entire incident. The rabbi ordered the administrators to enroll the boy into the yeshivah, and so it was.

And how correct are his holy words that this loving mercy is actually cruelty. A person who apparently does not have mercy upon his children and punishes them over their ways and behavior is really one who truly loves them. He brings them benefit in this world and in the world to come.
(Chanoch Lena'ar [Educate the Child], The Testament of the Rebbe Rashab [Rabbi Shalom Ber] of Lubavitch, p.35)

"...A wise son is the joy of his father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother" (Proverbs 10:1).

The nurturing feminine aspect embraces her children and draws them close, but the father must rebuke them and teach them discipline. The woman will tend to please them, and consequently not allow the father to punish them. Therefore, the good child is ascribed to the father, but the bad child will be blamed on the mother. (Commentary of the Malbim on Proverbs 10:1).

Why is it written in the Torah, "...as a father has mercy upon children" (Psalms 103:3), and why is it not written, "...as a mother has mercy upon children"?

It is the nature of a man who loves his children to discipline them, as it is written, "One who holds back the rod hates his son, but one who loves him will be quick to chasten him" (Proverbs 13:24). A person who punishes his child when necessary, loves him.

However, a woman is soft-hearted towards her children, and does not want her husband or a teacher to hit them. From the time the child was an infant she was accustomed to giving him all his needs and desires, but afterwards what he really needs is discipline. Thus, if a child goes in a bad way, it is blamed on the woman.
(Kav Hayashar, Ch. 81)

A woman needs to make sure that her children go in a good way, and she should not have pity upon them when a teacher or their father hit them. Every woman should take as an example Bat Sheva, the wife of King David and the mother of King Shlomoh. She would herself discipline her son Shlomoh. It is recorded that she did this even when he was older, when he once slept past the third hour of the day and the keys to the Temple were lying under his pillow.
(ibid.)

Righteous women must raise their children for Torah and mitzvot, and rule over them strictly. We find that this was the case with Bat Sheva. She would tie down her son Shlomoh and punish him, while saying to him, "What are you, my son; what are you, son of my womb?"

In this way they will merit to the world to come. This is the answer Chazal gave to the question, "How does a woman merit to the world to come?"