Dinah
Welcome back to my blog! I am now 3/4 of the way through The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, and I feel like I am gaining a pretty good understanding of the story. One thing that I paid attention to as I read the most recent section of the novel is the impact that Dinah, the narrator, has on readers. I have discussed this and alluded to its importance somewhat in my first two posts, but for today's post, I am going to focus entirely on Dinah, and her significance as both a character and the narrator.
First and foremost, The Red Tent is essentially a retelling of Genesis 34 from the Bible, but with more of a focus on the women than the men, which is what the bible tends to focus on more. In my previous posts, I discussed how this made Dinah's narration especially important, and this became even more prevalent to me in this section of the story. A lot of important events in Dinah's life have occurred in this section, and she is a completely different person than she was in my last post. I will try to avoid too much plot summary, but I think a quick update is needed as a lot has happened in the novel.
Basically, Dinah and her family move to the city of Shechem. Shortly after this, Dinah begins to menstruate for the first time, which, in this culture, is a highly commemorated event that marks her entrance into womanhood, and calls for a celebration in the Red Tent itself. Her entrance to being a woman is rewarded with an apprenticeship with Rachel, who is a midwife. This role leads to her meeting Shalem, the prince in Shechem, whom she falls in love with. Shalem's father, the king, attempts to pay Jacob, Dinah's father, for their marriage, but Jacob refuses. He requests that all of the men in the city be circumcised, and the king arranges for this to happen, only to have Dinah's brothers kill all of these men (including Shalem) after the fact, and bring Dinah back home. With the help of Re-Nefer, Shalem's mother, Dinah manages to escape Jacob's house and flee to Egypt. Dramatic, right?
It is once Dinah gets to Egypt that I began to notice certain aspects about the way she was being treated by others. Obviously, the aforementioned events included Dinah being treated as somewhat of an object, being sold for marriage, then kidnapped by her own family. This treatment is definitely the result of being a woman in this time period, but I find it especially interesting that we get Dinah's perspective on it. That is something else I've been focusing on as I have begun to think more about Dinah's perspective on things in general - as a female, she is quite an interesting narrative figure. From our modern day perspective, the treatment she receives due to being female is appalling, and interestingly enough, there are signs that could signify Dinah too realizes this. For example, in the prologue she says that "[o]n those rare occasions when I was remembered, it was as a victim" (page 1). This seems to show that she wants to be known as more than that, and not considered to be weak or in need of pity. She goes on to explain that "[n]o one recalled my skill as a midwife, or the songs I sang, or the bread I baked for my insatiable brothers. Nothing remains except for a few mangled details about those weeks in Shechem" (page 2). I think these words are important to keep in mind, because they show that, although all Dinah knows is women being treated poorly by men, she still knows that she is worthy of more than that.
With that being said, Dinah's gender certainly impacts her life negatively, whether or not she acknowledges it. This can be especially seen she gives birth to a child she had conceived with Shalem before his murder. She describes the horrific pain she has to endure, questioning why "had no one told me that my body would become a battlefield, a sacrifice, a test? Why did I not know that birth is the pinnacle where women discover the courage to become mothers . . . Until you are the woman on the bricks, you have no idea how death stands in the corner, ready to play his part" (page 224). After describing her agonizing childbirth experience, Dinah tells readers about her son, Bar-Shalem, who she has a lot of love for. When she awakes the next morning however, her son is gone, and Re-Nefer, her mother-in-law, tells Dinah that Bar-Shalem will become the prince of Egypt. She tells her, "I am his mother in Egypt. You will be his nurse and he will know that you gave him life. His care will be your blessing, but he will call us both Ma. . . and for this, you can be grateful" (page 227). Re-Nefer then tells her that if she calls her son Bar-Shalem again, "[she] will have Dinah thrown out of this house and into the street" (pages 227-228) and that if she does not listen to Re-Nefer, she will lose her son.
I found that section of this reading very powerful, because it was a perfect portrayal of the ways that women were treated like objects in this biblical time period. Dinah had to go through an agonizing childbirth experience only to be told what she could and couldn't do with her own child. The way that her body was used as almost a child-bearing machine gave me a chilling reminder of Margaret Atwood's novel, The Handmaid's Tale. Of all the horrific experiences Dinah had in this reading, this stuck out particularly, because it shows the extremities of the abuse these women had to go through, only for it to be overshadowed in the Bible by the same people who were causing this abuse. I think this is essentially Diamant's main point within this novel, and I think she is using Dinah to portray that point in an even more powerful way. Because readers are able to develop a connection/relatability with Dinah from the very beginning, they feel more attached to her, and therefore can better see the harmfulness of the way she is treated/the ways it impacts her life. That's why I love the fact that Dinah is the narrator, and I will continue to pay more attention to the ways she is effected by her negative treatment from others.
In my next post, I will have finished the novel, so I am looking forward to updating you on things I have been following throughout, and of course my thoughts on the ending. Thank you for reading, and I'll see you then!
First and foremost, The Red Tent is essentially a retelling of Genesis 34 from the Bible, but with more of a focus on the women than the men, which is what the bible tends to focus on more. In my previous posts, I discussed how this made Dinah's narration especially important, and this became even more prevalent to me in this section of the story. A lot of important events in Dinah's life have occurred in this section, and she is a completely different person than she was in my last post. I will try to avoid too much plot summary, but I think a quick update is needed as a lot has happened in the novel.
Basically, Dinah and her family move to the city of Shechem. Shortly after this, Dinah begins to menstruate for the first time, which, in this culture, is a highly commemorated event that marks her entrance into womanhood, and calls for a celebration in the Red Tent itself. Her entrance to being a woman is rewarded with an apprenticeship with Rachel, who is a midwife. This role leads to her meeting Shalem, the prince in Shechem, whom she falls in love with. Shalem's father, the king, attempts to pay Jacob, Dinah's father, for their marriage, but Jacob refuses. He requests that all of the men in the city be circumcised, and the king arranges for this to happen, only to have Dinah's brothers kill all of these men (including Shalem) after the fact, and bring Dinah back home. With the help of Re-Nefer, Shalem's mother, Dinah manages to escape Jacob's house and flee to Egypt. Dramatic, right?
It is once Dinah gets to Egypt that I began to notice certain aspects about the way she was being treated by others. Obviously, the aforementioned events included Dinah being treated as somewhat of an object, being sold for marriage, then kidnapped by her own family. This treatment is definitely the result of being a woman in this time period, but I find it especially interesting that we get Dinah's perspective on it. That is something else I've been focusing on as I have begun to think more about Dinah's perspective on things in general - as a female, she is quite an interesting narrative figure. From our modern day perspective, the treatment she receives due to being female is appalling, and interestingly enough, there are signs that could signify Dinah too realizes this. For example, in the prologue she says that "[o]n those rare occasions when I was remembered, it was as a victim" (page 1). This seems to show that she wants to be known as more than that, and not considered to be weak or in need of pity. She goes on to explain that "[n]o one recalled my skill as a midwife, or the songs I sang, or the bread I baked for my insatiable brothers. Nothing remains except for a few mangled details about those weeks in Shechem" (page 2). I think these words are important to keep in mind, because they show that, although all Dinah knows is women being treated poorly by men, she still knows that she is worthy of more than that.
With that being said, Dinah's gender certainly impacts her life negatively, whether or not she acknowledges it. This can be especially seen she gives birth to a child she had conceived with Shalem before his murder. She describes the horrific pain she has to endure, questioning why "had no one told me that my body would become a battlefield, a sacrifice, a test? Why did I not know that birth is the pinnacle where women discover the courage to become mothers . . . Until you are the woman on the bricks, you have no idea how death stands in the corner, ready to play his part" (page 224). After describing her agonizing childbirth experience, Dinah tells readers about her son, Bar-Shalem, who she has a lot of love for. When she awakes the next morning however, her son is gone, and Re-Nefer, her mother-in-law, tells Dinah that Bar-Shalem will become the prince of Egypt. She tells her, "I am his mother in Egypt. You will be his nurse and he will know that you gave him life. His care will be your blessing, but he will call us both Ma. . . and for this, you can be grateful" (page 227). Re-Nefer then tells her that if she calls her son Bar-Shalem again, "[she] will have Dinah thrown out of this house and into the street" (pages 227-228) and that if she does not listen to Re-Nefer, she will lose her son.
I found that section of this reading very powerful, because it was a perfect portrayal of the ways that women were treated like objects in this biblical time period. Dinah had to go through an agonizing childbirth experience only to be told what she could and couldn't do with her own child. The way that her body was used as almost a child-bearing machine gave me a chilling reminder of Margaret Atwood's novel, The Handmaid's Tale. Of all the horrific experiences Dinah had in this reading, this stuck out particularly, because it shows the extremities of the abuse these women had to go through, only for it to be overshadowed in the Bible by the same people who were causing this abuse. I think this is essentially Diamant's main point within this novel, and I think she is using Dinah to portray that point in an even more powerful way. Because readers are able to develop a connection/relatability with Dinah from the very beginning, they feel more attached to her, and therefore can better see the harmfulness of the way she is treated/the ways it impacts her life. That's why I love the fact that Dinah is the narrator, and I will continue to pay more attention to the ways she is effected by her negative treatment from others.
In my next post, I will have finished the novel, so I am looking forward to updating you on things I have been following throughout, and of course my thoughts on the ending. Thank you for reading, and I'll see you then!
Narrative point of view has such a large impact on how a story is told and how it impacts the reader. It reminds me of "The Danger of a Single Story" TED talk we watched in class, and what we discussed in Song of Solomon about narrative perspective.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about that, but you're right! Dinah's perspective is all that I know as a reader, and I have not every really questioned her credibility. I think that because she seems to be very open and friendly from the very beginning of the novel, and she connects well with the readers. However, I will keep the idea of her "single story" in mind as I finish the novel, and see if I notice instances when she may not be credible.
DeleteJennifer,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! You made it very easy to understand what was going on in your book, especially for someone who hasn't read it before. As I read your blog, it was almost scary the amount of times your book reminded me of the Handmaid's Tale. From the religious influences, the treatment of women, and the importance of sexuality and childbirth, the two books seem almost identical. I think the most interesting comparison I found was when you talked about Dinah's son leaving her, and how she was told she was no longer allowed to be his true mother. This was almost chillingly similar to the scene in the Handmaid's Tale when Janine's baby was taken away from her immediately after birth and she had no say in the matter.
Have you found any more similarities between The Red Tent and The Handmaid's Tale as you've read?
DeleteHi Meg!
I definitely have noticed some similarities between the two stories throughout this novel, beginning in the title. The "Red" Tent comes from the symbolism of blood (menstruation) similar to the way the Handmaids wear red in The Handmaid's Tale. From the very beginning, I found that connection very powerful, and I think it ties to the overall ideas about control over women’s bodies that are evident in both of these novels. Something else I’ve noticed when comparing the two stories is the way that the overall treatment of women is illustrated to readers. What I mean by this is that in The Red Tent, the story is set in biblical times. When we read it in modern day, we see how badly these women were treated, yet consider it something of the past, that we can only look back on. Since The Handmaid’s Tale is set in the future, I think readers are better able to recognize both the harmfulness of this misogynistic treatment, but also the ways that it is still omnipresent in society. Despite this difference, I think the two novels certainly tie back to the same ideas about gender roles and sexism in our world. That is why I especially like The Red Tent, because it brings to light the harmful treatment that Dinah and many other female biblical figures endured, that is often overshadowed.