Red Tent by Anita Diamant Critical Analysis
Option A
The novel the Red Tent by Anita Diamant brings another interesting perspective to the Dinah story of Genesis chapter 34, which is told in quite a different context. Being a sad story of the rape of Dinah, which ends up bringing the death of her then husband, this novel brings another view that has been carefully executed by the author. The novel tells the story of the female from when she is a young girl to the time she becomes a woman and then her death. It tells of her pain, her joy, her happiness, her relationships, her struggles and her ambitions. In other words, Dinah speaks for herself and for the woman through this novel. She tells a story that she feels will be forgotten.
In this novel, women seem to have a very good relationship with another. They normally meet with each other once in a month in the tent known as the red tent when they are menstruating and there share a lot with each other. Dinah is among these other women as she is the only daughter among Jacob’s children. As in normal circumstances there is some jealousy seen among the women especially at the beginning of the novel when Dinah narrates her mother’s story at the time she was getting married (Diamant 2). The four sisters, Leah, Rachel, Zilpah and Bilhah had fallen in love with the same man, Jacob. After Jacob proposes to marry Rachel, she immediately tells her sisters. This means that they were free with each other and shared a lot. However, they all react differently to the news. Some feel that she is too young to as she has not yet started menstruating while others felt as if she was taking away what was theirs (Leah).
Although they may have their own differences and competitions at some points especially when it came to love and family matters, these women are portrayed as close to and open with each other. To the women, the graduation of a girl from being just a girl puberty/adolescent/adult was a very important thing. When Rachel begins to menstruate, she is welcomed into the red tent by her sisters and her surrogate mother, who is Leah’s biological mother (Diamant 50). They communicate their joy by the special song done and by pampering Rachel with beauty and scented oils. This is to show that she has become one of them and they are happy to welcome her into their world. This red tent figuratively separated the world of women from that of men. No man was allowed to enter this tent so the matters discussed in the tent by the women became confidential and private among the women.
In a very interesting way, the girls seem to help each other out of circumstances that they felt that they could not handle. For example, Zilpah helps Rachel come up with a plan of how she could evade getting married to Jacob due to her fear of Jacob and the ‘big day’s’ night. Rachel asks Leah to pose as her during the wedding, which Leah disagrees to at first. She later accepts the offer although she is still afraid that she might be found out. On the other hand, the jealousy is communicated by Zilpah indirectly as she encourages the fear in Rachel by telling her that Jacob was endowed enormously (Diamant 65). Preparing Leah for her wedding communicated a couple of mixed reactions. There was jealousy and envy, satisfaction, fear, unrest, joy, amongst other feelings and emotions.
The culture made the communication between the women quite easy and private. For example, the presence of the red tent, which was a place for women who were having their monthly periods and those who had recently given birth, was a place where they could share a lot together without the interruption of the men. The women in the Jews community were not highly regarded and appreciated especially if they went against the norm. The tie between once desires and culture are very sensitive especially when it came to women’s issues. When a girl engaged herself in sexual activities before she got married, she was seen as immoral, unclean and a source of shame to her family. This was also seen in unfortunate circumstances such as rape cases. However, they were not harshly punished like in the former case.
The girls and the women valued their families. Bilhah agrees to sleep with Jacob in order to bear a child for her sister Rachel in order top remove the shame from their family and especially from Rachel. Ruti, Laban’s wife, is rescued from being sold into slavery through the intervention of Leah (Diamant 120). Even though she was not fully qualified to enter the red tent, the other women allowed Dinah to enter the red tent, as she was the only girl child among Jacob’s children and to show the togetherness of the family. They also teach Dinah the ways and works of the women during this time. The relationship between the girls and the women seems quite open and free. The welcoming of Dinah into the tent was one action to show the openness. It is also put that Dinah greatly relied on the women for entertainment and comfort since she did not have girls her age to play with. The novel also downplays the jealousy that is greatly seen in the Bible between Leah and Rachel. In this novel, they act more as co-wives and family members rather than competitors of the same husband.
Just like in Tannen and Angiers concepts, the women in this novel seem to be in control of their own destiny. Unlike the olden days where the women were easily manipulated, controlled and were under the men’s voice, this novel portrays something quite different. The girls plan on the one to be married first, Zilpah and Rachel planned how they would take away their father’s terraphim, Rachel and Bilhah planned how they would cover Rachel’s shame, Dinah was confident about marrying her Prince husband, she ran away to in protest of her brothers’ murder actions, and so on. The woman’s concern of hr family and others is evidently seen when Dinah returns from Egypt. She finds that she has been forgotten by her brothers and father but is still alive in the minds of the other women in the family.
Recommendations
One of the major reasons I would recommend this book is because it is quite interesting. It gives a wider and interesting view of the well-known Dinah story of Genesis chapter 34. In this story, the women are the voice unlike in the normal bible story where the men were the voice. The women decide their destiny and the road that they choose to pick. For example, Dinah still chooses to go to her late husband’s land even after he is killed by her own brothers. All the four daughters of Laban end up with the man they wished to be with in the end.
The story in this novel is told from the woman’s point of view. Through this novel, one is able to understand a woman’s strengths, weaknesses, fears, joy, struggles, tenderness and toughness, amongst others. It shows how a woman is able to get her way while making the man feel as he is still in control. This novel is recommendable as it gives the reader a chance to make a comparison between the Bible story and Diamant’ story. The ways they are similar and the ways they are different. It also gives a vast view of the Jewish culture upon the woman. One is able to look at some things that are seen as unfortunate in another different angle. For example, Dinah was able to be with her loved one through what was seen as a rape action.
Through the novel, Diamant tries to reveal what she feels is the untold story and portrays the woman as someone different from what she is commonly known for. Instead of making the surrogate motherhood as a way of giving birth in return for something, she puts as something that is done out of love. Bilhah bears children for Rachel out of her own free will. The red tent could be seen as something discriminative against the women. However, Diamant makes us see as a place of consolation, knowledge, happiness, togetherness and so on. Where the women can share and interact without the fear of being interrupted by the other men. With the incorporation of the bible story, the book could be widely used to bring a new knowledge to the people who are used to viewing things ion one perspective.
Works Cited
Diamant, Anita. The red tent/Anita Diamant. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005. Print.
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