Thoughts on THE RED TENT

I'm re-re-re-re-reading Anita's Diamant's The Red Tent.  I've always enjoyed the book; it's well written and gripping, as well as imaginative.  But the book appeals on a greater level than that.

I recently read Linda's Holmes' thoughts on the phrase "Chick Lit."  And as much as I resist forcing gender differentiation onto novels, I think there are some differences.  My favorite women authors tend to write about characters who are defined by their relationships.  Jennifer Weiner, who Holmes focuses on, writes about women who are mothers, and wives, and sisters, and friends.  My favorite men authors tend to write about characters who are defined by their experiences.

The Red Tent definitely fits into the relationship category.  The point of the women's lives in this novel is their relationships.  They are mothers and sisters and wives.  But more importantly, they are women and that ties them to every other women they encounter.  Every month, the women get to spend a week together in the red tent while they menstruate.  And this week is a time of celebration, not a time of complaining about bloating and cramps and taking Midol.  A girl's menarche is a huge celebration when she officially enters the collective womanhood.  Similarly, childbirth, even though a scary thing in these pre-medicinal times, is a time of collective womanhood. 

This I think is why the novel was so popular and remains an embracing read.  It speaks to that part of our culture that we've lost.  As childbirth and menarche and menstruation have become medicinized (more on this later) we've lost that sense of women's collective.  What rituals do women have left?  How often do we get together to deal with our lives as a group?

I can think of only a few--bridal showers and baby showers being the most obvious.  And honestly, these events are usually dull.  They do not celebrate the power of the woman involved, but usually domesticate her.  She is reduced to the new role she is assuming--"wife" or "mother." She is showered with gifts that are not for her, but for the other--husband or baby. 

Through the centuries, women have lost power, both in the public sphere, as well as in their own lives.  I encourage us as women (and also as men since I think they've lost their ritual base as well) to rebuild this ritual element.  Let us celebrate our power and our community.  Let us create a new red tent and fill in that gap that we search for in Diamant's novel. 

September 11, 2010