The Red Tent

Leah is a main character in the first half of the novel and a strong influence on Dinah. As her birth mother, Leah becomes the first person whom Dinah loves. Her heterochromatic eyes disturb people, “one blue as lapis, the other green as Egyptian grass” (11). In build and character, she is sturdy and strong. As Jacob’s first wife, Leah is the nurturer and provider of the household: She is skilled at making bread and beer, and often smells like yeast, associating her with food and sustenance. She nurses others’ babies when needed, including Rachel’s son Joseph, and oversees weaving among other chores. Jacob treats Leah as a business partner and often consults her, but they also enjoy marital relations. Overall, she represents women’s fertility and work. When she loses Dinah to Egypt, she, like the oracle Rebecca, feels a break with tradition, as she is no longer able to pass on her knowledge. This loss likely contributes to Leah’s death.

Rachel is a main character in the first half of the novel. As an aunt who is also married to Dinah’s father Jacob, Rachel is one of Dinah’s four “mothers.” She and midwife Inna teach Dinah midwifery. In the Book of Genesis, Rachel is described as Jacob’s favorite wife. Anita Diamant ascribes this to her arresting beauty, a “presence [as] powerful as the moon” (8) with brown-bronze hair, honey-gold skin, obsidian eyes, and cheekbones that stand out like figs. Rachel is spoiled, selfish, and young when she marries Jacob, having just reached menarche. Her fear of intercourse leads her to beg Leah to take her place as Jacob’s first wife, demonstrating her demanding nature as a child; this quality disappears as she matures. Though she has several miscarriages, Rachel delights in her nephews and niece, and midwifery gives her the opportunity to travel. She represents women’s beauty and grace, which makes her a foil to Leah and another source of inspiration for Dinah. When she loses Dinah to Egypt, she dies giving birth to Jacob’s last son.

Jacob is a secondary character in the novel, but the protagonist of the Book of Genesis. His appearance at Laban’s camp precipitates the marriages that will build his family and lead him to reconcile with his birth family in Canaan. Early on, he is framed as a tender husband who treats his four wives with respect. Jacob cares for and takes pride in his sons, adhering to his family’s ritual of circumcision and worshipping the god El. He is crafty in his dealings with father-in-law Laban and resists being manipulated. However, he is also dishonest when it suits him: Jacob cheated his twin Esau out of his birthright and supports sons Simon and Levi’s slaughter in Shechem. This leads to his children’s lack of respect when he dies, with favorite son Joseph fearing Jacob’s “blessing” will become a curse.

Like his father Jacob, Joseph is a secondary character in the novel, but a main character in the Book of Genesis. As a child, Joseph is Dinah’s innocent, imaginative playmate, but becomes hardened by their brothers’ attempt to sell him into slavery. He eventually experiences prophetic dreams and uses them to secure his position as a vizier in Egypt. He is illiterate in Egyptian and relies on scribes like Dinah’s son Re-Mose. When Joseph learns Re-Mose is his nephew, the son of the man whom Simon and Levi slaughtered, he threatens harm if Re-Mose attempts revenge. He sends Re-Mose away, ignoring Dinah’s feelings on the matter, and demands that she serve his family, including accompanying him to Jacob’s deathbed. Dinah no longer respects her brother, even though Joseph was betrayed and exploited by their brothers just as she was.