The Bible is the most well-known and often-read book in the
world. Inside, it contains a variety of stories. Yet amongst the endless pickings,
Anita Diamant - the author of The Red
Tent - has chosen a mere footnote as her story’s plot. The Red Tent tells the story of Dinah, Jacob’s only daughter. Her
story is not explored far in the Bible, consisting of only a sentence or two.
In her 395 page novel, Anita Diamant strives to portray the entire life of this
forgotten girl. I believe the reason for the misinterpretation of Dinah’s story
is due to the fact that she had no daughters to listen to her story as she did
her mothers. This novel is Dinah’s attempt to set the record straight and pass
on the correct version of events.
Dinah begins the story by expressing the loss of our
memories of her - though it is “not [our] fault, or [hers]”, but the result of
the chain from mother to daughter being broken and “the word pass[ing] to the
keeping of men”. She laments that nobody recollects her as a person or her
life, but just “a few mangled details about those weeks in Shechem”. Dinah
explains that it is important to understand that she would not have had a story
if it weren’t for her “mothers”. Dinah regards all four of Jacob’s wives as her
mother - although only Leah is her biological mother - and states that all four
wives were sisters by blood to each other too. The blood relation reiterates
the bond between the five women.
The role of a mother in The
Red Tent is defined, not only in the conventional sense of child-bearer,
but as a teacher, friend, confidante and protector. Each of Dinah’s mothers has
a different personality, but all lavish their hopes and dreams and feminine
love onto Dinah as she is the only girl and only “daughters keep their memories
alive”. Each mother, who wishes to pass on their story and wisdom, has only
Dinah to confide in as they cannot confide in their sons. As such, Dinah is
told many secrets that she is not mature enough to hear and not only becomes
closer to women, but remarkably distant from the men.
This distance is evident in the familiarity she feels
towards her mothers but the unease she experiences with her father - “I did not
know how to smile at my father or answer him, so I turned to run after my
mother and Rachel”. As the pampered only girl, Dinah grows up sheltered from
much of the world. This is why the horrific murder of her husband is such a
shock. Her decision to leave her mothers after the murder results in aimless
wandering as she no longer has anyone to guide her.
The red tent of the story is a tent where only menstruating
women are permitted to enter. Births take place and the women menstruate
together in the red tent, “sharing secrets like bangles”. As the only girl,
Dinah is permitted to enter the tent before she begins menstruating and even
attend births. The tent is very important for the women as it is a place where
they can congregate to unburden their worries and rest. Outside the tent, it is
men that dictate the society and women have no say, but women rule inside the
red tent and men are not permitted to enter. The tent is also a symbol for the
beginning of life - the colour red symbolizing blood and sacrifice. Every
member in Dinah’s family - including her - was born in the red tent where their
mothers endured the suffering of giving birth to further life. The “moon blood”
of the women is also stated to be “cleansing the body of last month’s death,
preparing the body to receive the new month’s life”.
Another significant object in The Red Tent is the midwives’ bricks. When the women give birth,
they stand on the two bricks. In those times, each birth could kill the mother
as there were very few medical supplies. In the red tent of life, surrounded by
other women who support them and encourage them, the birthing woman mounts the
bricks to symbolize the gathering of her courage to face death in order to give
life. As such, each woman present participates in this birth and every
successful birth is worth rejoicing. This also creates a bond amongst all the
women through the act of childbirth which the men are unable to understand.
Anita Diamant writes the novel in first person by the
perspective of Dinah. Through this method of writing, we are not only able to
view Dinah’s life, but experience her thoughts and emotions on what is
happening. Dinah does not only narrate her story, but speak to the reader
personally, reassuring them when she believes them to be anxious and explaining
things that she thinks the reader might not understand. This form of narration
is almost like a mother soothing her child - “I am grateful that you have come.
I will pour out everything inside me so you may leave this table satisfied and
fortified”. Dinah addresses more towards female readers in an attempt to pass
on her memories and suffering as her mothers did to her.
At the end of the novel, Dinah thanks the reader for
listening to her story. There is a tone of relief in her words - “My heart
brims with thanks for the kindness you have shown me by sitting on the bank of
this river, by visiting the echoes of my name” - as she prepares to depart,
happy in the knowledge that her story will no longer be forgotten and her life
was not lived in vain. In this novel, through colourful imagery of life during
Biblical times, the author has conveyed the kinship of all women through their
trials and torment. Dinah is just one of the many women of the world, but by
detailing her life and familiarizing the reader to this character, Anita
Diamant has made the agonies of women a personal matter. As a woman, I found the novel to be incredibly beautiful and sad in a wonderful way.
- Calista
“The painful things seemed like knots on a beautiful necklace, necessary for keeping the beads in place." - The Red Tent
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