The Story of Dinah takes up an entire chapter in the book of Genesis, and yet it is rarely mentioned in modern Christian traditions. In fact, though I spent the first 18 years of my life dutifully following Protestant Christianity, I had never heard of Dinah, daughter of Jacob, until I picked up The Red Tent. The novel re-imagines the story of Jacob through the eyes of women, in the process painting a fascinating picture of women in antiquity.The backbone of Diamant's narrative employs several often ignored Old Testament anecdotes involving the women surrounding Jacob. After finishing the novel, I actually dusted off my Bible and read some of the chapters n Geneiss from which Diamant gleans her material. Sure enough, many of the stories were there. Diamant does change a few details. For example, she completely discards the idea that Jacob had to wait seven years before marrying Rachel, then another seven when he found he had been tricked into marrying Leah. She does this, most likely, to advance the plot, although I consider it an improvement, as I always found that particular detail of the Biblical story difficult to believe. Also, in Diamant's story, all four of Jacob's wives - Leah, Rachel, Zilpah and Bilhah - are sisters by the same father. Diamant characterizes the relationship between Leah and Jacob as a passionate partnership, rather than a distasteful marriage. However, the primary arc of the story, and the details involving Jacob and his sons, are largely unchanged. Jacob gets very little face time throughout the book, and events are never told from his point of view. This story is about the women and their lives together.
The Red Tent includes several details about women in Genesis that are either glossed over or completely ignored in modern religious tradition. For example, the fact the women worshipped and treasured the gods of their childhood is, for doctrinal reasons, never metioned in Sunday schools, but is a prevalent characteristic of womens' lives throughout the book. Diamant also fills in the details of female tradition and day-to-day life in ancient times, culminating in the tradition of the red tent. The red tent exclusively serves the women as an abode of rest and fellowhip during their monthly periods. It fosters female community and companionship, and allows Diamant to weave a beautiful and nuanced narrative for her characters.
The entire novel is told from Dinah's point of view, divided into the three parts. In the first part, Dinah relates the stories told to her by her four "mothers", encompassing the tales of the four wives of Jacob and their early experiences. Part II tells Dinah's story from childhood, culminating in the events of Genesis 34. In the final part of the story, Dinah relates her experiences in Egypt, and tells of her family there. If you are unfamiliar with the story of Dinah, I highly recommend reading Diamant's novel first, then comparing it with the Biblical text afterwards. I found that this made the impact of the story all the more powerful.
*Note: According to Bart D. Ehrman, a Biblical scholar and professor, the evoltion of the New Testament Biblical texts can be charted through surviving documents. In some passages, we have proof that the words of the passage were changed by the scribe copying the document, likely to have the text better represent their interpretation of the meaning. Ehrman is a New Testament scholar and, to my knowledge, make no claims about the book of Genesis. However, after reading The Red Tent, I began to think of the events in the Biblical version of the story, particularly the use of the word "rape". I'm inclined to think that either the word "rape" was later inserted, or that the meaning of the word has changed since the story was written. What do you think? Am I forcing my own interpretation onto the text? Or do you think Diamant's fictional story is a better representation of events?
My Rating: 5 stars
Re-readablity Rating: 4 stars
