This is it, I promise...the last post about the five women in Diamant's The Red Tent. I can't leave Jacob's womenfolk without discussing his daughter Dinah, the heroine in the novel.
When you read the account in Genesis, you'll see that Jacob and Leah's daughter was "defiled" by a young man named Shechem and that his father Hamor made a generous offer to Jacob in return for his daughter. Shechem apparently loved Dinah and wanted to marry her. Her brothers, however, were angered at her treatment and demanded that all the men of Shechem's city submit to being circumcised. They do so. Surely now Jacob will agree to Hamor's offer.
However, as the men in Hamor and Shechem's city were healing, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, killed most (maybe all) of the men in the city, including Shechem and his father. Then they took their sister Dinah and left...along with livestock and the women and children of the area. That's the last we hear of Dinah.
What happened to her? What were her true feelings about the situation and about Shechem? Was she heartbroken over the murder of the man who loved her? The fact that she was still in his house instead of waiting with her family for the proposal to be accepted or not is telling. She was with Shechem, not them. It could have been by choice. Then again, she could have been held against her wishes and consequently felt a degree of vindication when her brothers went on their plundering, murdering campaign. We don't know.
Though her account is fictional, Ms. Diamant helps the reader see that perhaps Dinah truly loved Shechem and that she stayed with him of her own will...and that she grieved deeply at his death. In the novel, she left the house of Jacob never to return and later gave birth to Shechem's son in Egypt. In Egypt, Dinah lived a lowly and lowkey life in another's household, and as time went by, she again found love. By a twist of fate, she was the midwife who helped deliver her cousin Joseph's child.
I don't know the real story. I just know that reading this novel made all of these women become more real to me. They were human like the rest of us mortals, and they felt resentment, envy, heartache, loss, love, and grief. They aren't just names in a book; they lived. And their lives contain lessons for all of us. I'm just not sure what Dinah's lesson for us is. Do you have any ideas?
Friday, October 24, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
More Red Tent Pondering
Today I'm thinking of Leah and Rachel's handmaids and am trying to figure out if there are parallels between their lives and the lives of many women today.
Bilhah and Zilpah remind me of those who aren’t officially “wives,” those who have no legal claim on the men in their lives. While the scriptures note that Jacob took them “to wife,” it’s also apparent that they were clearly in lesser positions than Leah and Rachel. I don’t know anything about the history of these two women, but I feel that they had little or no choice in their relationships with Jacob or their wives. Who were they to say NO to their requests/demands? At the same time, each of these women gave birth to two of Jacob’s sons, four leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Don’t we all know women who for reasons that we might not understand choose to have relationships with men who are unavailable for some reason or another? Perhaps they are already married, like Jacob, or perhaps they are unwilling to commit. Sometimes the couple, imitating those on the silver screen, may even have children together. Some modern day Bilhahs and Zilpahs may feel that they have no choice but to cohabit for financial reasons. Others see it as the next step towards a future marriage and will often speak of their roommates as their fiancés.
In many cases, it’s the woman’s choice to be in a POSSLQ (Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters) arrangement; perhaps she’s been “burned” in a bad marriage or has academic or career goals that could be compromised by wedlock. Can anything good come of relationships such as this? For me, no. For Bilhah and Zilpah and some of their 21st century sisters, maybe. As mentioned, they had no say-so in the matter, and they gave birth to four of Jacob’s sons.
There are no easy answers to my ponderings. During that era and in that part of the world, women had a different status than the women in 2008 in the United States. While I certainly don’t condemn these two handmaids for their choices, it’s clear to see that they weren’t given the same status as Leah and Rachel. Is it the same for women who “move in” with their significant others today?
Bottom line (at last): Is there a parallel between Bilhah and Zilpah and the women of today who have relationships with men who are unwilling or unable to marry them?
Bilhah and Zilpah remind me of those who aren’t officially “wives,” those who have no legal claim on the men in their lives. While the scriptures note that Jacob took them “to wife,” it’s also apparent that they were clearly in lesser positions than Leah and Rachel. I don’t know anything about the history of these two women, but I feel that they had little or no choice in their relationships with Jacob or their wives. Who were they to say NO to their requests/demands? At the same time, each of these women gave birth to two of Jacob’s sons, four leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Don’t we all know women who for reasons that we might not understand choose to have relationships with men who are unavailable for some reason or another? Perhaps they are already married, like Jacob, or perhaps they are unwilling to commit. Sometimes the couple, imitating those on the silver screen, may even have children together. Some modern day Bilhahs and Zilpahs may feel that they have no choice but to cohabit for financial reasons. Others see it as the next step towards a future marriage and will often speak of their roommates as their fiancés.
In many cases, it’s the woman’s choice to be in a POSSLQ (Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters) arrangement; perhaps she’s been “burned” in a bad marriage or has academic or career goals that could be compromised by wedlock. Can anything good come of relationships such as this? For me, no. For Bilhah and Zilpah and some of their 21st century sisters, maybe. As mentioned, they had no say-so in the matter, and they gave birth to four of Jacob’s sons.
There are no easy answers to my ponderings. During that era and in that part of the world, women had a different status than the women in 2008 in the United States. While I certainly don’t condemn these two handmaids for their choices, it’s clear to see that they weren’t given the same status as Leah and Rachel. Is it the same for women who “move in” with their significant others today?
Bottom line (at last): Is there a parallel between Bilhah and Zilpah and the women of today who have relationships with men who are unwilling or unable to marry them?
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Leah and Rachel
The book club just finished The Red Tent, a fictional account of Jacob's wives, their handmaids, and Dinah, his daughter by Rachel. My primary feeling after reading it is, "HUH?" It's true that Jacob had 12 sons and that his wives were Leah and Rachel. It's also true that Bilhah and Zilpah, handmaids to his wives, bore him sons. We know also that he had a daughter named Dinah who was "defiled" by Shechem, a prince. It stands to reason that a household as large as Jacob's would have its share of drama and its issues dealing with relationships, but I somehow feel a bit uncomfortable with this version of events.
Reading the novel prompted me to go to the scriptures to read the actual account as recorded in the King James Version. We all know that certain things were lost, added, or modified through the various translations. Still, there's enough information in those short chapters of Genesis to prompt us (me) to more carefully consider the lives of these women and ponder the lessons we can learn from them.
When I think of the five principal players in this novel, I can't help but compare them to some of the women who live today. Almost everyone knows someone like Leah who is devoted to her husband and who, despite knowing that he loves another more than he does her, continues to try her dead level best to win his affection. Leah's strategy was to bear him children, and each time she bears Jacob a son, she thinks that surely this time he will love her. She even encourages him to take her handmaid Zilpah "to wife" and she bears him yet another son, two in fact.
The scriptures note that Rachel has some sort of “eye challenge” that is evidently obvious to all who see her and that detracts from her appearance. She’s not as beautiful as her sister Rachel whom Jacob loves best. Being reminded of Rachel’s less-than-perfect eyes makes me think of our society’s focus on beauty and perfection. Females everywhere compare themselves to their “sisters” and find themselves coming up short, especially when compared to a super model or attractive Hollywood starlet. Botox, cosmetic surgery, extreme diets, eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia, and the millions of dollars spent on make-up and hair color all signal an emphasis on appearance over substance. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for making the most of what we have and for looking our best. I’m just suggesting that there must be a balance.
Rachel, though much loved by Jacob, complained to Jacob that she had no children and claimed that she would die if she didn’t have any. She encouraged him to “go in unto” Bilhah, her handmaid so that Rachel could “have children by her.” We know that eventually Rachel gave birth to Joseph and later still to Benjamin, the son who claimed her life in childbirth. Still, in the meantime, she was reminded daily of her lack as she observed the sons of Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah. The scriptures tell us that she was envious of Rachel. Almost everyone knows someone who has borne no children despite her desire to do so, and like Sarah and Hannah, Rachel reminds us of how painful that can be.
Another idea that struck me as I reread this account in Genesis is that although she was beautiful and well-loved by her husband, Rachel was still unhappy. Nobody has everything. Nobody. Those of us on the outside looking in might think a situation is just peachy when in fact, there’s sadness, deep sorrow, or even envy as in Rachel’s case. We can’t see into another person’s heart, but if we could, we would likely perceive that all bear some private grief. Rachel was beautiful but barren, at least for a time. Leah was less attractive and not as beloved as her younger, prettier sister, but she bore several children, including Jacob's only daughter (that I know about anyway).
Have you ever really thought about these sisters and the lives they lived? Can you see parallels in our lives? Do you think there’s a reason why their life stories are told in the way they are? Maybe tomorrow I’ll get some thoughts together about Zilpah, Bilhah, and Dinah. In the meantime, I’d like to hear some of your thoughts about any of these five women.
Reading the novel prompted me to go to the scriptures to read the actual account as recorded in the King James Version. We all know that certain things were lost, added, or modified through the various translations. Still, there's enough information in those short chapters of Genesis to prompt us (me) to more carefully consider the lives of these women and ponder the lessons we can learn from them.
When I think of the five principal players in this novel, I can't help but compare them to some of the women who live today. Almost everyone knows someone like Leah who is devoted to her husband and who, despite knowing that he loves another more than he does her, continues to try her dead level best to win his affection. Leah's strategy was to bear him children, and each time she bears Jacob a son, she thinks that surely this time he will love her. She even encourages him to take her handmaid Zilpah "to wife" and she bears him yet another son, two in fact.
The scriptures note that Rachel has some sort of “eye challenge” that is evidently obvious to all who see her and that detracts from her appearance. She’s not as beautiful as her sister Rachel whom Jacob loves best. Being reminded of Rachel’s less-than-perfect eyes makes me think of our society’s focus on beauty and perfection. Females everywhere compare themselves to their “sisters” and find themselves coming up short, especially when compared to a super model or attractive Hollywood starlet. Botox, cosmetic surgery, extreme diets, eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia, and the millions of dollars spent on make-up and hair color all signal an emphasis on appearance over substance. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for making the most of what we have and for looking our best. I’m just suggesting that there must be a balance.
Rachel, though much loved by Jacob, complained to Jacob that she had no children and claimed that she would die if she didn’t have any. She encouraged him to “go in unto” Bilhah, her handmaid so that Rachel could “have children by her.” We know that eventually Rachel gave birth to Joseph and later still to Benjamin, the son who claimed her life in childbirth. Still, in the meantime, she was reminded daily of her lack as she observed the sons of Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah. The scriptures tell us that she was envious of Rachel. Almost everyone knows someone who has borne no children despite her desire to do so, and like Sarah and Hannah, Rachel reminds us of how painful that can be.
Another idea that struck me as I reread this account in Genesis is that although she was beautiful and well-loved by her husband, Rachel was still unhappy. Nobody has everything. Nobody. Those of us on the outside looking in might think a situation is just peachy when in fact, there’s sadness, deep sorrow, or even envy as in Rachel’s case. We can’t see into another person’s heart, but if we could, we would likely perceive that all bear some private grief. Rachel was beautiful but barren, at least for a time. Leah was less attractive and not as beloved as her younger, prettier sister, but she bore several children, including Jacob's only daughter (that I know about anyway).
Have you ever really thought about these sisters and the lives they lived? Can you see parallels in our lives? Do you think there’s a reason why their life stories are told in the way they are? Maybe tomorrow I’ll get some thoughts together about Zilpah, Bilhah, and Dinah. In the meantime, I’d like to hear some of your thoughts about any of these five women.
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