Prosaic Poppy 2005-2006

The Red Tent

As I have indicated before, I borrowed a few books from some friends to tide me over during Spring Break. One of the books I have borrowed is titled The Red Tent. I started the book yesterday afternoon, and finished it earlier today.

One of the reasons that I was able to consume this book so quickly is because as a new Christian I am eager to learn about what it must have been like during the life and times of the people that wrote the Bible. More specifically, the women. [That, and I am a fast reader]

The Red Tent is a historical fiction, which means that the main characters were real, but the events written about them are circumstantial...may or may not have happened. We'll never know.

I could tell that the author did considerable research as to what it was like during the time of Jacob, his wives and his children. The fact that the story revolved around his wives made this book an interesting read for me as well because it dug deeper into the meat of how these people lived and what they may have thought about the conditions under which they lived.

The book is written from the perspective of Dinah, Jacob's only daughter. Not much is written about her in the Bible, so this book is suppose to describe her life and how she felt about her circumstances.

It was an extremely good read, insightful, captivating and startlingly sincere. Of course, this comes from a woman's point of view. I don't suspect that many men would find this book very interesting. [unless they genuinely wanted to have some insight about women]...as it is mostly about childbirth, moon cycles, secrecy, and dealing with the treachery of men and their egos.

All in all, not much different than what women experience and talk about today, just without the electricity [shopping was used as a means of escape even back then]. It was definitely a story of sisterhood and love among women...the deep bonds that are formed, sometimes in spite of men. Something that I am coming to understand myself, even at this stage in my life now that I am a mother of daughters.

One thing that has struck me in regards to Dinah's story, as told in The Red Tent, is that even in death, she longed for her mother. This story, fiction as it was, has given me more to contemplate in regards to my relationship with my own daughters...and how much our relationships with each other will mold them as women and mothers themselves some day.

Almost as if to prove this thought...here are John Mayer's lyrics:

"So fathers be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers be good to your daughters, too"

I would definitely recommend The Red Tent to all of my friends.

Thanks out to Erin M. for letting me borrow it.

posted by Kassi Gilbert @ 2:29 PM