Dinah is the first daughter born to a polygamous family that includes four mothers and eleven sons. As the long-awaited daughter, she is spoiled, adored, and given special treatment and attention from her multiple mothers. She enjoys her special status and occasionally uses the jealousy between Leah and Rachel to her advantage: for example, she sleeps in Rachel’s tent when Leah is short with her.

Intelligent and lively, Dinah makes up games to play with her many brothers. Although most of her brothers are older, she often assumes the role of boss and chief storyteller. When the boys grow older and move out to the fields with their father, Dinah contentedly spends the majority of her time in the tents with the women, as she is a keen and diligent observer who takes pleasure in noting their family dynamics. As a narrator, she is careful to detail even the subtlest actions of her family members but rarely takes such care in describing herself. For the majority of Dinah’s life, she describes herself as a passive observer, taking little responsibility for the events in her life. When Re-nefer takes Dinah’s son as her own, Dinah is practically unresponsive, grieving quietly but not defending herself. This passiveness is a curious aspect of Dinah’s personality, as her mother Leah had been a role model of the strong-minded and assertive woman.

Over the course of the novel, Dinah grows from being a lively but passive girl attached to her mothers to one who an independent, active agent in her own life. Although Dinah endures unspeakable grief and loss, she rebuilds herself—eventually finding a new home, a new husband, and a new family that fulfill her desire for a productive and peaceful life.

Previous section Character List Next section Leah
Test your knowledge

Take the Analysis of Major Characters Quick Quiz
Take a study break

QUIZ: Is This a Taylor Swift Lyric or a Quote by Edgar Allan Poe?
Take a study break

The 7 Most Embarrassing Proposals in Literature

Popular pages: The Red Tent

Take a Study Break