Meaning of The Red Tent
Welcome back to my blog! I am sad to say that this post will be my last on Anita Diamant's novel The Red Tent. I have enjoyed writing about this book over the course of the last month, and I will miss it. To finish this blog off on a good note, I am going to be discussing the meaning of The Red Tent for my final post.
In case you didn't read my last post, I wrote about the literary merit of the novel, and why it would not be my first choice for AP class reading. As I described, the book, though it has some strong themes and ideas behind it, is a lot of plot, which makes analyzing it/understanding these themes more difficult. For this reason, I was a bit nervous when I first began thinking about what I would write in this post. There have certainly been some themes that I've touched on in my last posts, such as the one of water, yet I don't feel as though I have a strong enough basis to write an entire post on that theme. That's when the overarching theme of the book, which I have alluded to greatly throughout this blog, hit me - the struggles of women. That sounds dark, and to be honest, it definitely is.
Like I've mentioned in my previous posts, Diamant utilizes a lot of imagery and descriptive writing in this novel, which, paired with the extensive plot, makes for a fairly enjoyable read. However, despite this, the struggles that Dinah and other female characters undergo due to their gender are clearly depicted through this plot and imagery, which is something I like about Diamant's writing. I have written a lot about Dinah in each of my posts, but that's simply because she has consistently stood out to me as a very strong character, whose ability to persevere throughout her horrific experiences is the overarching theme of the novel. Starting from the very first page of the book, Dinah introduces readers to this theme. She starts off by saying "[w]e have been lost to each other for so long. My name means nothing to you. My memory is dust" (page 1). From this introduction, she is setting up the idea that women are not only struggling, but that their struggles are being forgotten and overlooked. That is certainly the main idea behind this book - shedding light to the struggles that female biblical figures endured, that tend to be overshadowed by the achievements of men.
Of the many struggles women endure in this novel, childbirth and the expectation of having children in general, seems to be one of, if not the, most difficult. As women, their primary role is to get married and bear children. This can be clearly seen in this novel, as "the Red Tent" is a symbolic element of the story. It is a tent created specifically for women who are menstruating and having children. The women are taught to see it as an almost sacred place, which can be seen through Dinah, who, after menstruating for the first time, says "[m]y childhood is over. I will wear an apron and cover my head. I will not have to carry and fetch during the new moon anymore, but will sit with the rest of the women until I am pregnant" (page 170). Although Dinah is, at least in our eyes, still young, she is now expected to marry and become pregnant, and that will essentially become the new focus of her life. She also illustrates the significance of this event through her family's reactions. She writes that "[Leah] kissed me on both cheeks, and my aunts gathered around and took turns greeting me with more kisses. My sisters-in-law clapped their hands and everyone began talking at once" (page 171). All of this illustrates how much emphasis is placed on childbirth in this time period and society, which is one of the greatest struggles of women.
As if this strong expectation is not enough of a struggle, the process of childbirth itself is absolutely excruciating for these women. I discussed this a bit in a previous post about Dinah, but I think it is definitely worth discussing again. Because of this quite un-medically advanced time period, childbirth is a process that can very easily end in death for the mother and/or the child. In addition to her own childbirth experience, which she describes as "[seeing] death [standing] in the corner" (page 224), Dinah's midwife experience also gives readers a look at the painful realities of childbirth in this time period. She describes the aftermath of one mother's mid-childbirth death, saying "[t]he scene in the room was terrible: the mother dead, one baby dead, a scrawny newborn wailing for the breast that would never feed him" (page 242).
Although the novel contains many instances of Dinah going through horrific experiences, there is something very important to note in contrast to this. Dinah clearly does not want to be portrayed as a victim, which she makes very clear from the novel's opening, when she discusses her happiness that her story is finally being told. I think that, although the struggles of women seems to be a large part of the meaning of this novel, the true meaning that Diamant wants to get across to her readers is the persistence of women. I'm sure you've all heard the quote "nevertheless, she persisted", which I think applies perfectly to Dinah and her story. Although she went through a great amount of pain throughout the story, she is finally able to find happiness at the end, which can be seen through her description of her own death as a very beautiful and peaceful thing.
Though often gruesome, Diamant's vivid descriptions of Dinah's life portray the horrific realities of being a woman in this biblical time period. I believe that is the true meaning of this book, and Diamant's primary intentions of writing it, which she develops throughout her writing - to bring attention to the fact that these female biblical figures went through so much more than we often realize. Yet, they should not simply be pitied and seen as victims. Instead, they should be admired for their strength, courage and their ability to persist through situations that we may find unimaginable. That is the meaning I took from reading this book, and it is a powerful one that I will certainly keep in mind for a long time.
Thank you again for keeping up with me this past month! I hope you've found my posts informative, and learned a little bit about The Red Tent. Although there were a few aspects of the book I didn't love, I really did enjoy it overall, and I would highly recommend it to anyone!
In case you didn't read my last post, I wrote about the literary merit of the novel, and why it would not be my first choice for AP class reading. As I described, the book, though it has some strong themes and ideas behind it, is a lot of plot, which makes analyzing it/understanding these themes more difficult. For this reason, I was a bit nervous when I first began thinking about what I would write in this post. There have certainly been some themes that I've touched on in my last posts, such as the one of water, yet I don't feel as though I have a strong enough basis to write an entire post on that theme. That's when the overarching theme of the book, which I have alluded to greatly throughout this blog, hit me - the struggles of women. That sounds dark, and to be honest, it definitely is.
Like I've mentioned in my previous posts, Diamant utilizes a lot of imagery and descriptive writing in this novel, which, paired with the extensive plot, makes for a fairly enjoyable read. However, despite this, the struggles that Dinah and other female characters undergo due to their gender are clearly depicted through this plot and imagery, which is something I like about Diamant's writing. I have written a lot about Dinah in each of my posts, but that's simply because she has consistently stood out to me as a very strong character, whose ability to persevere throughout her horrific experiences is the overarching theme of the novel. Starting from the very first page of the book, Dinah introduces readers to this theme. She starts off by saying "[w]e have been lost to each other for so long. My name means nothing to you. My memory is dust" (page 1). From this introduction, she is setting up the idea that women are not only struggling, but that their struggles are being forgotten and overlooked. That is certainly the main idea behind this book - shedding light to the struggles that female biblical figures endured, that tend to be overshadowed by the achievements of men.
Of the many struggles women endure in this novel, childbirth and the expectation of having children in general, seems to be one of, if not the, most difficult. As women, their primary role is to get married and bear children. This can be clearly seen in this novel, as "the Red Tent" is a symbolic element of the story. It is a tent created specifically for women who are menstruating and having children. The women are taught to see it as an almost sacred place, which can be seen through Dinah, who, after menstruating for the first time, says "[m]y childhood is over. I will wear an apron and cover my head. I will not have to carry and fetch during the new moon anymore, but will sit with the rest of the women until I am pregnant" (page 170). Although Dinah is, at least in our eyes, still young, she is now expected to marry and become pregnant, and that will essentially become the new focus of her life. She also illustrates the significance of this event through her family's reactions. She writes that "[Leah] kissed me on both cheeks, and my aunts gathered around and took turns greeting me with more kisses. My sisters-in-law clapped their hands and everyone began talking at once" (page 171). All of this illustrates how much emphasis is placed on childbirth in this time period and society, which is one of the greatest struggles of women.
As if this strong expectation is not enough of a struggle, the process of childbirth itself is absolutely excruciating for these women. I discussed this a bit in a previous post about Dinah, but I think it is definitely worth discussing again. Because of this quite un-medically advanced time period, childbirth is a process that can very easily end in death for the mother and/or the child. In addition to her own childbirth experience, which she describes as "[seeing] death [standing] in the corner" (page 224), Dinah's midwife experience also gives readers a look at the painful realities of childbirth in this time period. She describes the aftermath of one mother's mid-childbirth death, saying "[t]he scene in the room was terrible: the mother dead, one baby dead, a scrawny newborn wailing for the breast that would never feed him" (page 242).
Although the novel contains many instances of Dinah going through horrific experiences, there is something very important to note in contrast to this. Dinah clearly does not want to be portrayed as a victim, which she makes very clear from the novel's opening, when she discusses her happiness that her story is finally being told. I think that, although the struggles of women seems to be a large part of the meaning of this novel, the true meaning that Diamant wants to get across to her readers is the persistence of women. I'm sure you've all heard the quote "nevertheless, she persisted", which I think applies perfectly to Dinah and her story. Although she went through a great amount of pain throughout the story, she is finally able to find happiness at the end, which can be seen through her description of her own death as a very beautiful and peaceful thing.
Though often gruesome, Diamant's vivid descriptions of Dinah's life portray the horrific realities of being a woman in this biblical time period. I believe that is the true meaning of this book, and Diamant's primary intentions of writing it, which she develops throughout her writing - to bring attention to the fact that these female biblical figures went through so much more than we often realize. Yet, they should not simply be pitied and seen as victims. Instead, they should be admired for their strength, courage and their ability to persist through situations that we may find unimaginable. That is the meaning I took from reading this book, and it is a powerful one that I will certainly keep in mind for a long time.
Thank you again for keeping up with me this past month! I hope you've found my posts informative, and learned a little bit about The Red Tent. Although there were a few aspects of the book I didn't love, I really did enjoy it overall, and I would highly recommend it to anyone!
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