A Woman's Story (The Red Tent - Anita Diamant)

Member Name: LovesTravel

Product:	The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
Date:	25/10/09 (84 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Compelling historical novel reconstructing the story of Dinah, daughter of the patriarch Jacob

Disadvantages: Apt to offend some who take Biblical accounts literally

"Yes, but what of the women?"

Over the centuries, this plea has been uttered by countless women who have sought a reflection of themselves in the sacred texts of Judaism and Christianity. Because these texts were almost universally written, interpreted, and canonized by men, little of the spiritual history of women was preserved. Still, despite patriarchal control, hints of the power and wisdom of women survived: The Mosaic tradition that created the Torah left us with the astonishing portrait of the prophetess Devorah (meaning "Oracle"), who served as the political and religious leader of her people. And whereas the misogynistic Paul of Christian scripture decreed that women should keep silent in the churches, a far more magnanimous Paul sent greetings to several woman who were actually leaders of the early church, including the deaconess Phoebe at Cenchrea.

In response to the relative absence of role models in capacities other than as wives and mothers, feminist theologians have in recent decades called on time-honored techniques to restore women--and the female side of the Supreme Deity--to their rightful place within the modern religious dialog. Thus, by applying a midrashic formula (taking sacred texts and supplementing them with information gleaned from Jewish folklore, literary and archeological evidence from the ancient past, plus a fair measure of psychology and inspiration) Anita Diamant has recreated the life of Dinah (pronounced "Dee-nah"), daughter of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob and his first wife Leah. The result is the delicious fiction of The Red Tent.

The Red Tent is a remarkable portrait of the lives of women in the ancient world--their joys and their triumphs as well as their often prescribed circumstances. Of Dinah, the central character, we know from the Bible that she was raped by a prince of the city of Shechem and that her brothers, led by Simon and Levi, wreaked a terrible and--even by Biblical reckoning--dishonorable revenge. We also know from the Biblical account that Dinah had "gone out to seek the women of the land." Traditional commentaries interpret this latter observation to mean that Jacob's daughter had somehow caused her own rape through inappropriate behavior--by leaving the safety of her home and going out on her own among foreign women.

Diamant's Dinah turns the ancient tale on its head. Telling her own story, as opposed to having it told by her father and brothers, Dinah corrects the record by returning her life's story to the keeping of women. In so doing she introduces her audience to the world of the red tent--a place where women honored the rise of each new moon and the moon flow of their own bodies by seeking seclusion from the world of men. As presented by Diamant, the seclusion of the red tent was a celebration controlled by women, not a segregation required by men. It was a world governed by women's rituals and honoring the pantheon of gods that ordered their daily lives. It was a time of rest and renewal, not of banishment for being "unclean."

This Dinah was an only daughter nurtured by the four wives of Jacob--four sisters whom she honors as her beloved "mothers," each one bestowing her with special gifts. This Dinah shared a childhood with her famous brother Joseph and, like him, suffered a supreme betrayal by her jealous brothers. This Dinah went out among the women of the land to practice the ancient craft of midwifery, not to behave wantonly in the midst of foreigners. This Dinah was not raped, but dared to make her own choice on matters of love and sex--a choice that the Biblical account admits earned a fabulous bride price for her father, up to and including the circumcision of all males living in her prince's city. And this Dinah responded to her brothers' betrayal by hurling a curse on the men of her family and seeking refuge among her mother-in-law's people, the ancient Egyptians.

Indeed, Diamant herself has chosen well by focusing on Dinah as her heroine. The story of Joseph and his many-colored coat and of the dishonorable behavior of his older brothers, once again led by Simon and Levi, make their betrayal of Dinah imminently believable. If such brothers would sell their father's favorite child into slavery out of petty jealousy, what wouldn't they do to preserve their advantage against a sister who was positioned to become queen over the land in which they dwelt? According to Genesis, they slipped into Shechem under cover of darkness, while the men of the city slept feverishly from the pain of their mass circumcision. Then the brothers murdered every male (including infants), looted the city's riches, and abducted and despoiled the women of their choice. So much for Dinah's wanton behavior!

The Genesis account of Dinah ends with her rape and her brothers' revenge. Diamant's historical novel goes on to establish the rhythm of her heroine's life in Egypt--a long life filled with the details of widowhood, motherhood, her vocation as midwife, and a new marriage to a kind and gentle man. It visualizes the impact of her reunion with Joseph at the height of his power as the pharaoh's grand vizier and of her anonymous reunion with her patriarchal family during its sojourn in Egypt. And in the end, Diamant's conclusion is a woman's conclusion: what really matters in life is love, supplemented by a full measure of personal honor. Position and power as exemplified by Jacob and his sons, including the famous Joseph, are inadequate as the basis of a fulfilling life and a meaningful legacy. Power only has value when it is tempered by love, honor, and wisdom.

If Diamant's novel has a flaw, it is in that she has been unable to escape fully the stereotypes of male and female traits in dealing with her characters. Perhaps it is inevitable that this should be so, given the state of female character development in the scriptures. To take the feminist corrective from this novel would undermine its effectiveness. All things considered, Diamant is more generous than most of her male and female colleagues in attributing positive and negative traits to characters of both sexes. Besides, it is not her purpose to create a milieu in which men and woman are alike. Rather she aims toward restoring woman to a credible presence in the ancient world, and in that, she succeeds brilliantly.

© LovesTravel/DAnneC

Summary: Exceptional first novel that recreates the ancient world with a full cast of characters