full title The Red Tent
author Anita Diamant
type of work Novel
genre Fiction; some consider it a midrash
language English
time and place written 1994–1996, Massachusetts
date of first publication October 1997
publisher St. Martin’s Press
narrator The novel is a memoir of Dinah’s life, narrated in
the first-person voice. She recounts her life from birth to death,
as well as the lives of her mothers. She narrates the prologue as
if she were offering her story from biblical times to people of
modern, contemporary times.
point of view First-person (Dinah)
tone Dinah expresses sadness and remorse at how the story
of her life has been boiled down to a few footnotes in the Old Testament and
wants to share the truth about her life and her family. Her tone
also conveys forgiveness for the past and hope for the future.
tense Past
setting (time) In the time of the Jewish Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. The time period is somewhere between 1800 and 1500 b.c.,
also know as the Middle Bronze Age.
setting (place) Haran (modern-day Iraq and Syria), Canaan, Shechem
(Israel), and Egypt
protagonist Dinah
major conflict Dinah is the only daughter of the Jewish patriarch
Jacob. When she falls in love with a prince from Shechem, her father
refuses to give her hand in marriage unless all the men of Shechem
agree to be circumcised and worship Jacob’s god in their temples.
They follow his requests, but Dinah’s brothers nevertheless slaughter all
the men of Shechem in their sleep, including Dinah’s lover. She curses
her family and runs off to Egypt, pregnant.
rising action Dinah’s growth into adolescence and desire to reach womanhood.
Jacob’s growing unrest, even as his family properties increase,
causes him to continually seek the bad counsel of his two evil sons,
Simon and Levi. As Jacob desires more power and wealth, his judgment
fails him.
climax Dinah’s confrontation with her father about his role
in the murder of her husband and her subsequent realization of his guilt.
She curses him and her brothers, then walks away from her family,
including her mothers, forever.
falling action Dinah’s escape into Egypt and the months waiting for
the birth of her son, Re-mose.
themes The burden of memory; childbirth as a defining experience;
the power of the moon and nature
motifs Healing and renewal, mothers, dreams
symbols Teraphim, the red tent, the midwives’ bricks
foreshadowing The climax of the novel is heavily foreshadowed, primarily because
of the information given in the prologue and the presence of Dinah
in the Bible. Additional foreshadowing includes the prediction by
her grandmother, Rebecca, the renowned oracle, that some sadness
awaits her in life and the frequent references to Simon and Levi’s
cruelty, as well as the graphic description of the ceremony to open
Dinah’s womb after her first menstruation.
