The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant

Characters NOTE: Italicized names are from the Bible
Female	Male
Dinah – narrator, last child and first daughter of Jacob and Leah Leah – Jacob’s first wife Zilpah – 2nd wife Rachel – 3rd wife, midwife, intimidated Jacob Bilhah – 4th wife, daughter of slave and Laban Ruti – Laban’s last wife, abused, rescued by Leah after Laban gambled her away Tabea – Esau’s daughter, Dinah’s friend Meryt – midwife who delivered Bar-Shalem, befriended Dinah Re-nefer – Hamor’s queen, Shalem’s mother Merenro – slave to Rebecca, thought killed on road but entertained at a party for Re-mose after his circumcision	Jacob – husband and father, son of Isaac and Rebecca Esau – Jacob’s twin brother Laban – father of all four of Jacob’s wives, each to a different mother (Zilpah and Bilhah daughters of slaves) Joseph – Rachel and Jacob’s son, friends with Dinah, nursed by Leah Zafenat Paneh-ah – name after sold by brothers into slavery, interpreted of dreams and could see the future Hamor – king, called Meryt and Dinah to help with Ashnan’s delivery Shalem – first born son, married Dinah Bar-Shalem/Re-mose – son of Dinah and Shalem, renamed by Re-nefer and parentage taken from Dinah Simon and Levi – murdered Shalem and all other living males Benia – carpenter, Dinah’s second husband

For Discussion:

NOTE: All pages are from paperback edition.

1. In the beginning of the novel Rachel, Zilpah and Leah tricked Jacob into marrying Leah instead of Rachel.  Why did Leah go along with this plan?   Do you think Jacob realized the switch?  Discuss Rachel’s behavior – she got what she wanted (not to marry) but then was mad.   Is this human nature?
2. How were the four sisters able to coexist and actually get along and work together when they shared the same husband?
3. How well did the author describe events common to all women – childbirth, first sight of baby, etc.?
4. Simon and Levi were upset that Dinah married Shalem.  One explanation was that they felt “…their own positions would be diminished by such an alliance” (page 197).   Why do you think their reaction (killing all the men) was so over the top?
5. Did you like the end of the novel when Gera (Benjamin’s daughter, Rachel’s granddaughter) told Dinah the story of her family and Dinah’s own story?  Dinah reflected that, “The story of Dinah was too terrible to be forgotten” (page 317).
6. Why did Leah ask Judah to give Dinah the ring that was the token of Jacob’s love for Rachel?  What message was Leah sending Dinah?
7. If you are familiar with the Bible stories of Jacob and Esau and Joseph and his brothers, how did this prior knowledge affect your reading? 
8. The novel is based on Genesis 34 and the chapter ends with Simon and Levi killing all of the males in Hamor’s family and taking Dinah out of the house.  The only other time Dinah is mentioned is in Genesis 46:15 when she is listed as a descendent of Jacob. How believable is the rest of the story as written by Diamant? 
9. There were a few inconsistencies comparing this novel to the Biblical stories.  Does this matter to your enjoyment of the novel?
1. Genesis 29:24 – Zilpah was a maid Laban gave to Leah to be her maid
2. Genesis 29:29 – Bilhah was a maid Leban gave Rachel to be her maid
3. Joseph written to be arrogant (page 285) and illiterate (page 281), but I don’t think that was from the Biblical depiction.
10. How would readers of different ages or men vs. women read this bo
11. Would reading this book give a male reader any insight into women?   Did you gain any insight or understanding?
12. One comment in the beginning of the book stated, “…women handed down wisdom through storytelling inside the red tent.  Todays’ women’s gatherings, including book groups, serve the same purposes.”  Do you agree?   Are there other places and times where storytelling is important today?
13. This is NOT described as historical fiction.   In fact, on the copyright page there is the statement, “This is a work of fiction.  Although loosely based on stories found in the Bible, the events and characters described here are products of the author’s imagination.”  At my book group we were surprised to discover that the word “loosely” was not in the statement in some printings of the book.  Some members were bothered by the use of a Bible story and the bending of facts and then inventing a continuation of the story.  What did you think?  Would the story be just as effective if it was totally fiction?

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First Semester Success: 2nd Edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an  eBook and hardcopy from amazon.com and a hardcopy from wordassociation.com.  Click on the upper right link.