Southfield Public Library

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant Discussion Questions used at SPL -- April 2008

1. Were you familiar with this Bible story before you read the book? If yes, do you think it enhanced your reading? If no, did you feel like you were missing something?

2. What did you think of the whole idea of a Red Tent? Do you think we have anything close to it in today’s society?

3. What did you think of each wife? Who was the most independent one? Who was the quietest?

4. What was the relationship between Rachel and Leah? Did it change after Jacob came into their lives? Did they like each other? What was their relationship with Jacob? Did he love one more than the other?

5. Childbirth and mothering was a central theme in this book. How much has changed in the last few thousand years? What has stayed the same?

6. What sort of child was Dinah? What made her that way?

7. How important were dreams in this book? In the culture that Diamant showed to us?

8. Why didn’t Jacob’s wives help their father’s last wife more? Why didn’t they step in to stop the abuse?

9. How important a role did Rebecca play in Dinah’s life? What did you think of the reunion of Jacob and Esau?

10. What did you think of the love story of Dinah and Shalem? Compare it to the version in the Bible.

11. In the book, was Dinah naïve in that relationship? Who fostered and encouraged it?

12. What did you think of Jacob’s reaction to Dinah’s relationship? Did the actions of her brothers surprise you?

13. Why did Dinah go to Egypt with her mother-in-law? Why did she go along with the story?

14. Were you surprised by how independent some of the women were portrayed? Who were some that displayed that strength?

15. What was Dinah’s relationship with her son?

16. Who or what made Dinah finally begin to live again in Egypt?

17. Did the relationship between Dinah and Benia the woodworker seem real?

18. Why did Judah give Dinah the ring - the one that Jacob gave Rachel. Why would Leah want her to have it?

19. What did you think of the ending - that Dinah’s spirit stayed and kept an eye on things?

Southfield Public Library

General Discussion Questions

 For the person who chose the book – What made you want to read it? What made you pick it for the book club? Did it live up to your expectations?

 How is the book structured? First person? Third person? Flashbacks? Narrative devices? Do you think the author did a good job with it?

 How would you describe the author’s writing style? Concise? Flowery? How is language used in this book? Read aloud a passage that really struck you. How does that passage relate to the book as a whole?

 How effective is the author’s use of plot twists? Were you able to predict certain things before they happened? Did the author keep you guessing until the end?

 Did the book hold your interest?

 How important is the setting to the story? Did you feel like you were somewhere else? Did the time setting make a difference in the story? Did the author provide enough background information for you to understand the setting and time placement?

 Which is stronger in the book – the characters or the plots?

 Would you recommend this book to someone else? Why? And to whom?

Southfield Public Library

The Red Tent

Questions take from ReadingGroupGuides.com http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_r/red_tent1.asp

1. Read Genesis 34 and discuss how THE RED TENT changes your perspective on Dinah’s story and also on the story of Joseph that follows. Does THE RED TENT raise questions about other women in the Bible? Does it make you want to re-read the Bible and imagine other untold stories that lay hidden between the lines?

2. Discuss the marital dynamics of Jacob’s family. He has four wives; compare his relationship with each woman?

3. What do you make of the relationships among the four wives?

4. Dinah is rich in "mothers." Discuss the differences or similarities in her relationship with each woman.

5. Childbearing and childbirth are central to THE RED TENT How do the firtility childbearing and birthing practices differ from contemporary life? How are they similar? How do they compare with your own experiences as a mother or father?

6. Discuss Jacob’s role as a father. Does he treat Dinah differently from his sons? Does he feel differently about her? If so, how?

7. Discuss Dinah’s twelve brothers. Discuss their relationships with each other, with Dinah, and with Jacob and his four wives. Are they a close family?

8. Female relationships figure largely in THE RED TENT Discuss the importance of Inna, Tabea, Werenro, and Meryt.

9. In the novel, Rebecca is presented as an Oracle. Goddesses are venerated along with gods. What do you think of this culture, in which the Feminine has not yet been totally divorced from the Divine? How does El, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, fit into this?

10. Dinah’s point of view is often one of an outsider, an observer. What effect does this have on the narrative? What effect does this have on the reader?

11. The book travels from Haran (contemporary Iraq/Syria), through Canaan and into Shechem (Israel), and into Egypt. What strikes you about the cultural differences Dinah encounters vis-à- vis food, clothing, work, and male-female relationships.

12. In THE RED TENT, we see Dinah grow from childhood to old age. Discuss how she changes and matures. What lessons does she learn from life? If you had to pick a single word to describe the sum of her life, what word would you choose? How would Dinah describe her own life experience?