The Bond Between Mother and Daughter

The Bond Between Mother and Daughter

The relationship between mothers and daughters is an important one. The novel The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant, honors these relationships. "If you want to understand any woman you must first ask about her mother and then listen carefully." (2). The text is heavy in information of the connections through females, as the main character Dinah has multiple mothers. Because it is common for men to have multiple wives in the Biblical times, Dinah's father Jacob has four wives: sisters Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah. They all raise her as their own and teach her their special talents. Dinah is rich in "mothers" where she has a special relationship with each, thus proving that a persons adult life is indirectly influenced by the time spent with their mother(s) as a child.

Dinah's relationship with Leah is one that she cherishes, because Leah is the birth mother of Dinah. Leah, the oldest of the sisters, takes the title of head wife. She is the least selfish of the sisters and wants the best for her family. Out of everything Leah does to benefit her large family, one that stands out the most is being able to go to Jacob for help. Although it is against the ways of women of the time to be outspoken towards men, Leah does so to help her family reach success. Dinah witnesses Leah going to Jacob for help when Ruti is in distress from the harm of Laban. "I ask you to treat her better than her own husband. I ask you to act as the father." (85). It is bold of Leah to go to Jacob on such circumstances and ask of him a favor. She does this, however, to help her family. Learning from her mother, Dinah speaks out to a man similarly years later. During a birth, Dinah finds that the only way to save the mother in labor is to cut her open. When the father hears of this news, he forbids Dinah to do such surgery. She knows that the woman will die, and curses at the man. "Foul son of a maggot, may you and other like you wither like wheat in the desert." (259). Wanting to help the woman, like Leah wanted to help Ruti, Dinah speaks out to the man although she is culturally supposed to stay quiet. Dinah recalls her memories of Leah, and states just what she receives from Leah. "Leah gave me birth and her splendid arrogance." (2). Being able to know what is right and acting upon it is a noble trait Dinah learns from her times with Leah.

Dinah creates bonds with her aunt Rachel despite a feud between Leah and Rachel. Dinah and Rachel become close through the ties of midwifery. Rachel first begins her midwife career when she is in need of something to hold her over from the fact that she cannot bear children herself. "During her quest for a child of her own, Rachel assisted Inna and became her apprentice." (47). Because she is barren, Rachel has time to learn the ways of midwifery and becomes notably good at it. Her and her teacher Inna travel to places to deliver children, and Dinah becomes wrapped into the talent. "Our beloved friend was aging, and the time came when Inna was too stiff to walk out in the night or to manage steep paths, so Rachel took me with her and I began to learn with my hands as well as with my eyes." (177). This time gives Dinah the knowledge of being a midwife, and more importantly to be with Rachel. They form bonds in these times that Dinah respects immensely. These tasks of a midwife become part of Dinah, even in her adult life. Dinah stakes a name for herself when she helps to deliver her own child and then assists her fellow midwife and friend Meryt in bring babies into life. "And when I helped one of Nakht-re's servants deliver her first baby, Meryt spread the news of how I turned it inside the womb in the sixth month. Thanks to Meryt, I became a legend