Like many old and classic texts, the bible is woefully lacking on the details of the lives of women, and i found anita diamants account of the lives of the biblical women to be incredibly compelling and believable, filled with the sights and sounds of the ancient. The tent is, as the narrator says, an earthbound rainbow, which is also true of this novel. When we come to study the torah and all its many love stories, characters and dramas a book like the red tent fuels our imagination. The red tent by anita diamant 1997 her name is dinah. The red tent is a novel of biblical times and of the customs of those times, detailing the imagined lives of rachel and leah, two wives of jacob both true biblical figures and, subsequently, the imagined story of dinah, the daughter of leah, also a true biblical figure. The film is based on the story of the 1928 mission to rescue umberto nobile and the other survivors of the crash of the airship italia. The red tent is very loosely based on the story of dinah in genesis, and it is a book that is very easy to read. The novel in question is the red tent, and its modest but highly delighted author is anita diamant, an experienced american journalist who has also written several nonfiction guides to.
The story behind the red tent the red tent drama channel. Dinah sometimes curses peopleand these people seem to feel the consequences. Diamant retells the story as the blending of two cultures and the desire of a woman to find love at any cost. Top historian reveals the truth behind 2,700yearold bible story of dinah and the red tent. It is based on a story in the bible, but there isnt much information there. Years later, when his grandsons finally met the boy of the story, by then an old man, they were appalled to hear how isaac stuttered, still frightened by his fathers knife. The red tent is a faithful dramatization of anita diamants 1997 book, in which diamant took a minor character from the bible and filled in the story the bible didnt tell. This is where the women of jacobs tribe must go when theyre menstruating, and its this red tent that is their precious sanctuary of womanhood in a time of unbending patriarchal might. Spontaneous and organic, a red tent is a red textile space where women gather to rest, renew, and often share deep and powerful stories about their lives.
The red tent imagines the life of dinah the new york times. Dec 06, 2014 men got the whole bible, and all women got was. Stepping into the red tent the lifetime adaptation of anita diamants novel about dinah departs radically from the bible and that may be a good thing. Jan 20, 2003 the book is not all bad, and not all silly. The red tent of the title refers to the tent the women of the tribe remain in while experiencing their time of the. Diamant filled in details from her own imagination to make a good story from what is provided in the bible. Historian reveals truth behind 2,700yearold story of.
The red tent is a novel by anita diamant, published in 1997 by wyatt books for st. Anita diamant imaginatively tells the story from the fresh perspective of its women. Also bedded are zilpah, a goddess worshipper who has little use for men, and tiny, dark, and silent bilhah. The second half of the book, which takes place in egypt, is somewhat more convincing and less oppressiveperhaps because there is no more red tent. In the bible her fate is merely hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the verses of the book of genesis that deal with jacob and his dozen sons. Dec 06, 2014 the red tent, a twopart adaptation of anita diamants novel about a biblical story, is being broadcast on sunday and monday on lifetime. Rather than using an unnamed thirdperson narrator, diamant utilizes a figure immersed in the stories recounted in the red tent. What do make of this story being told from beyond the grave. Readers of the red tent will view the book of genesis in a new light. Dinah has heard the history of how her mothers fell in love with the same man countless times and recounts her personalized version of the story. Most women have heard of the red tent because they read the book.
Nov 30, 2014 almost two decades later, the staying power of the red tent and now its reintroduction into pop culture with the new movie feels gratifying to diamant, who has a new book coming out on december 9. It is a firstperson narrative that tells the story of dinah, daughter of jacob and leah, sister of joseph. Dinah, the narrator, opens the red tent by introducing herself and explaining that she is reciting the memories of her life and her mothers livesbecause without a daughter to tell the story, a womans history does not live on. The author does succeed in giving the reader some feel for life in an ancient culture, and for the experiences that are the same for all women at all times. Personally, it helped me to think deeper about the characters of our foremothers and what it would have been like for them to share a husband, children, responsibilities etc. Men got the whole bible, and all women got was this red tent. The red tent, a twopart adaptation of anita diamants novel about a biblical story, is being broadcast on sunday and monday on lifetime. The story of the twelve tribes of israel is told through the eyes of jacobs only daughter, dinah. Parasite director and cowriter, bong joon ho provides an update on what we can expect from the films hbo series adaptation. In the bible, dinahs story is only briefly mentioned. Here, the red tent book and miniseries took liberties with the original tale and stretched it into a full, dramatic narrative that provides a muchneeded voice to the sole woman in the original.
And it is with this spirit that the red tent movement has flourished as a global phenomenon. Mar 12, 2020 beautiful and lyrical, the red tent fills in the gaps of the biblical narrative telling the story of dinah, daughter of jacob. Seemingly realistic af its fair enough to wonder is criminal based on a true story. The story says that dinah was raped by an egyptian prince. May 04, 2017 top historian reveals the truth behind 2,700yearold bible story of dinah and the red tent. The tent is red because of the falling sun, and because of the flowing blood. However despite the incredible acting and horrifically believable crimes involved the show was entirely. The red tent goes beyond the traditional function of midrashim, because diamants novel fills in the gaps of the genesis story and removes the story from its religious context entirely. The red tent by anita diamant tells the story of the biblical character dinah, jacobs daughter and josephs sister. She is a minor character in the bible, but the author has broadened her story. It is a novel, even though it may be based in fact. In the red tent, anita diamant has taken these scant details of dinahs life and imagined them into an amazing narrative of what might have happened. In the bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the book of genesis that are about her father. Historian reveals truth behind 2,700yearold story of dinah.
The wives of jacob gather in the red tent, and in that image anita diamant has found the heart of a pulsing and moving novel. But hey, check out our guide to the bible if youre into that. Dina was not raped, says the author of the red tent. And itll help you get a handle on the red tent anyway, the red tent is all about a little lady called dinah. The book s title refers to the tent in which women of jacob. Dinah focuses initially on the stories of her mothers, the four wives of jacobleah, rachel, zilpah, and bilhahand how they come to be married to the same man. One of the most interesting things we see in this epic story is the red tent itself. After the applause died down, the sistrumplayer began to sing, accompanied by her own instrument and a single drum. Almost two decades later, the staying power of the red tent and now its reintroduction into pop culture with the new movie feels gratifying to diamant, who. Jun 09, 2001 in the surprising bestselling book, the red tent by anita diamant, it appears that no may very well mean, yes. Simon and levi, two of her brothers, avenge dinah by killing all the. Dinah, famously a daughter and a sister, finally tells her own story and the story of that unknown legion, gods women. Dec 02, 2014 stepping into the red tent the lifetime adaptation of anita diamants novel about dinah departs radically from the bible and that may be a good thing. The red tent movement has a seventeenyear history, but connects to thousands of years of tradition of women honoring women and creating a world that embraces honesty, and respects for.
795 1466 859 167 1451 396 310 158 1113 387 1255 36 140 776 889 786 1321 1486 1038 1528 1057 371 827 1619 110 171 616 282 426 921 347 1591 1584 406 88 921 1419 411 1198 251 38 675 1475 996 158 848 68 1097