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** In the original Biblical text, the prince (who was unnamed) was a rapist who decided ''after'' the fact that he loved Dinah and wanted to marry her. In the book (and the mini-series), he is a kind and handsome young man who falls in LoveAtFirstSight with her (and she with him), and engages in ''loving, consensual'' sex with her. The reason his village is destroyed in the original is a case of RapeAndRevenge; in the novel, it's because Dinah's greedy older brothers were worried about what would happen to their wealth and power if she married a prince. (It also didn't help that the prince did not ask her father for permission to marry her ''before'' they had sex.)
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* WomensMysteries
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* WomensMysteries
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And [[spoiler: Bar-Shalem/Re-Mose, when he learns that his life thus far has been BasedOnAGreatBigLie.]]
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** And [[spoiler: Bar-Shalem/Re-Mose, when he learns that his life thus far has been BasedOnAGreatBigLie.]]
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And [[spoiler: Bar-Shalem/Re-Mose, when he learns that his life thus far has been BasedOnAGreatBigLie.]]
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* ArtisticLicenseBiology: The purpose of the Ritual of Opening is to break the girl's hymen, in order to offer the resultant blood to Inanna, and "open her up" as preparation for marriage. The hymen doesn't ''quite'' [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymen work that way, but to be fair]], this ''is'' [[ScienceMarchesOn the Bronze Age.]]
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* ArtisticLicenseBiology: The purpose of the Ritual of Opening is to break the girl's hymen, in order to offer the resultant blood to Inanna, and "open her up" as preparation for marriage. The hymen doesn't ''quite'' [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymen work that way, way]], but to be fair]], fair, this ''is'' [[ScienceMarchesOn the Bronze Age.]]
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* ArtisticLicenseBiology: The purpose of the Ritual of Opening is to break the girl's hymen, in order to offer the resultant blood to Inanna, and "open her up" as preparation for marriage. The hymen doesn't ''quite'' [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymen work that way, but to be fair]], this ''is'' [[ScienceMarchesOn the Bronze Age.]]
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* {{Bowdlerise}}: The MiniSeries glossed over a lot of things, including the Ritual of Opening.
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* ChildrenAreInnocent: Played straight with Dinah. Averted with Tabea, who has seen a lot of the adult drama in her family.
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** Also, just as in canon, Esau has 3 wives (though one suffered DeathByChildbirth). Like Jacob, he has a favorite wife, the beautiful but (allegedly) infertile Basemath. His first wife, Adah, is jealous of Basemath and abuses her. Additionally, Esau is expecting a child with one of his slave girls, and she will become a lesser wife if her child happens to be a boy.
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* NotWantingKidsIsWeird: Tabea mentions that she wants to be a priestess, rather than to be sold into marriage and used as a Baby Factory or risk Death by Childbirth. This is because Tabea has seen a lot of the adult drama in her family, and witnessed Oholibamah suffer in childbirth for days before dying a horrible death. (But the only option open to her besides marriage and motherhood is becoming a priestess.) Because although her family is not without its problems, it is (at least at this point) much more stable than Tabea's, Dinah can't fathom why she (or anyone else) would want to pass up motherhood (which is placed on a very high pedestal in their culture, and especially among the women of Dinah's family.)
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* {{Lunacy}}: The women who are of childbearing age all menstruate like clockwork around the New Moon and ovulate with the full moon. In RealLife, periods ''usually'' do not synch up that much.
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* TheOldGods: Although they worship (or pretend to worship) Jacob's {{God}} in public, in private, his wives worship the goddesses of their homeland. They view their husband's God as unnecessarily harsh, and his customs of burning the choicest parts of a sacrificed animal and circumcision as strange. Meanwhile, the women of Canaan, particularly Simeon and Levi's wives Ialutu and Inbu, take a dim view of the rituals of the Red Tent, such as sacrifices to Inanna and the Ritual of Opening, and more readily accept Jacob's customs.
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* VirginPower: Early in the book, it's mentioned that Rachel's first menstrual blood is collected to fertilize the garden, with the belief that menstrual blood from a virgin makes crops grow bigger and stronger. [[note]]There ''is'' some truth to this, in that blood can be used as an excellent fertilizer, as it is rich in nitrogen. ''But'' it doesn't have to be menstrual blood, it doesn't have to be from a virgin of either sex, and it doesn't even have to be ''human'' blood.[[/note]]
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* MadeASlave: Dinah functions as Re-Mose's nursemaid, but is not allowed to play the role of his mother (even though she actually is). Played up in the miniseries.
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* TakeThat: One Egyptian maid tells Dinah the story of how Joseph came to work for Pharaoh, and scoffs at his supposed skill at deciphering dreams - seven fat cows and seven full stalks of wheat being devoured in turn by seven withered ones isn't that difficult to interpret.
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''The Red Tent'' is a novel written by Anita Diamant, which expands on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinah the story of Dinah]] in the [[Literature/TheBible Book of Genesis.]] The original Bible story is about a young girl who was raped by a prince, and her brothers [[RapeAndRevenge killed every man in the prince's city-state for it.]] Diamant's novel expands on the story, and tells it from Dinah's perspective. Her encounter with the prince, for example, is not a rape in Diamant's novel; it was loving and consensual. The story narrates Dinah's life, such as spending time with the women of her family in a red tent designated for their "time of the month."
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''The Red Tent'' is a novel written by Anita Diamant, which expands on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinah the story of Dinah]] in the [[Literature/TheBible Book of Genesis.]] The original Bible story is about a young girl who was raped by a prince, and her brothers [[RapeAndRevenge killed every man in the prince's city-state for it.]] Diamant's novel expands on the story, and tells it from Dinah's perspective. Her encounter with the prince, for example, is not a rape in Diamant's novel; it was loving and consensual. The story narrates Dinah's life, such as spending time with the women of her family in a red tent designated for their "time of the month."
" In 2014, it was made into a 2-episode miniseries airing on Lifetime.
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** One possible explanation for Zilpah's intense [[DoesNotLikeMen dislike of men]] is that [[ParentalIncest her father molested her]], and she saw how local men in the area ogled her and her sisters and jeered at Leah for her mismatched eyes.
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----
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* MotherhoodIsSuperior: Leah and her sisters dote on Dinah. They don't pay much attention to the boys after they finish nursing, since they go off to tend the herds with their father. [[spoiler: Except for Bilhah, who has an affair with Reuben once he grows up.]] Likewise, Jacob pays more attention to his sons than he does to his daughter, again on the grounds that men and women operate in different spheres of their semi-nomadic society.
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Christmas Cake is a Japanese-specific trope. Zero Context Example — please use Old Maid or Maiden Aunt for Western examples.
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* {{Polyamory}}: Just as in the {{Canon}} Bible story, but this time portrayed as orchestrated by the girls themselves (not Laban tricking Jacob into marrying his ChristmasCake Leah). Also, Jacob actually does love and care for his wives (well, in the beginning anyway), although Rachel is still his favorite.
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* {{Polyamory}}: Just as in the {{Canon}} Bible story, but this time portrayed as orchestrated by the girls themselves (not Laban tricking Jacob into marrying his ChristmasCake Leah). Also, Jacob actually does love and care for his wives (well, in the beginning anyway), although Rachel is still his favorite.
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* TextileWorkIsFeminine: They believe it's a gift to womankind from one of the old goddesses.
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** Isaac being monogamous and having only one wife is seen as the exception, not the rule. Not condemned- just not the norm.
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** Isaac being monogamous and having (and wanting) only one wife is seen as the exception, not the rule. Not condemned- just not the norm.
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** Isaac being monogamous and having only one wife is seen as the exception, not the rule. Not condemned- just not the norm.
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* MrFanservice: InUniverse and Invoked. Benia in the miniseries shows off his toned body on purpose while working on Dinah's roof in order to get her to fall for him. It worked.
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* MrFanservice: InUniverse and Invoked. Benia in the miniseries shows off his toned body on purpose while working on Dinah's roof in order to get her to fall for him. It worked. Afterwards, he dresses much more modestly when working- just as he did before meeting Dinah.
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* MrFanservice: InUniverse and Invoked. Benia in the miniseries shows off his toned body on purpose while working on Dinah's roof in order to get her to fall for him. It worked.
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** Also, in the miniseries, Dinah meets Judah's family. It is the only family of her brothers' that she meets, other than Joseph's. More subtle meta foreshadowing.
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* ForeShadowing: In a very subtle way. Leah wears sky blue. She is Judah's mother. Mary (and Joseph, and thus Jesus) is from the tribe of Judah. Mary is usually depicted wearing sky blue. A very subtle way to foreshadow which of Jacob's wives would be the ancestor of who is probably the most famous Jewish person ever.
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* ForeShadowing: Meta. In a very subtle way. Leah wears sky blue. She is Judah's mother. Mary (and Joseph, and thus Jesus) is from the tribe of Judah. Mary is usually depicted wearing sky blue. A very subtle way to foreshadow which of Jacob's wives would be the ancestor of who is probably the most famous Jewish person ever.
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* ForeShadowing: In a very subtle way. Leah wears sky blue. She is Judah's mother. Mary (and Joseph, and thus Jesus) is from the tribe of Judah. Mary is usually depicted wearing sky blue. A very subtle way to foreshadow which of Jacob's wives would be the ancestor of who is probably the most famous Jewish person ever.
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* AdaptationalHeroism: Shalem actually waits until marriage in the miniseries in order to have sex with Dinah.
** Downplayed with Jacob. He is more hands-on in the miniseries.
* AdaptationalVillainy: Rebecca in the book is mainly described as "arrogant". In the miniseries, she is shown chastising Werenro.
** Re-Nefer is more exploitative of Dinah in the miniseries.
** Downplayed with Jacob. He is more hands-on in the miniseries.
* AdaptationalVillainy: Rebecca in the book is mainly described as "arrogant". In the miniseries, she is shown chastising Werenro.
** Re-Nefer is more exploitative of Dinah in the miniseries.
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* OnlySaneMan: Joseph is the only one of Jacob's sons who seems to have a good head on his shoulders.
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* LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek: Was adapted in 2014 into a two-part MiniSeries on {{Lifetime}}.
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* BigScrewedUpFamily: After the destruction of the Shechemites, Jacob's family becomes this.
** Um, like it wasn't before?
** Um, like it wasn't before?
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* BigScrewedUpFamily: After the destruction of the Shechemites, Jacob's family becomes this.
** Um, likethis. Not that it wasn't before?was much better before.
** Um, like
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[[quoteright:333:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TheRedTent_1835.jpg]]
''The Red Tent'' is a novel written by Anita Diamant, which expands on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinah the story of Dinah]] in the [[Literature/TheBible Book of Genesis.]] The original Bible story is about a young girl who was raped by a prince, and her brothers [[RapeAndRevenge killed every man in the prince's city-state for it.]] Diamant's novel expands on the story, and tells it from Dinah's perspective. Her encounter with the prince, for example, is not a rape in Diamant's novel; it was loving and consensual. The story narrates Dinah's life, such as spending time with the women of her family in a red tent designated for their "time of the month."
!!Tropes associated with ''The Red Tent'' include:
* AmbiguouslyGay: Possibly Zilpah (though she could also be [[{{Asexuality}} asexual)]]
* AncientEgypt: Dinah starts a new life there with her mother-in-law and a servant after her husband is killed.
* TheAlcoholic: Laban
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: InvokedTrope. These are Biblical characters, but forget what you were taught about them in Sunday school.
* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: At least Rachel thinks so
* TheBeautifulElite: Rachel.
* BellyDancer: When Dinah comes of age, the women celebrate in the Red Tent. In particular, Ahavah (one of her sisters-in-law) is described as dancing with her pregnant belly.
* BestialityIsDepraved: Laban has a habit of "bothering the sheep."
* BibleTimes
* BigScrewedUpFamily: After the destruction of the Shechemites, Jacob's family becomes this.
** Um, like it wasn't before?
* BittersweetEnding: Dinah dies peacefully in her old age, surrounded and mourned by her new family, although what's left of her old family barely acknowledges that she ever existed.
* BreakTheCutie
* BridePrice: Jacob demands an outrageous bride price for his only daughter (which Prince Shalem is both willing and able to pay), which sets into motion the unfortunate turn of events that takes place next.
* BrokenBird: Rebecca's reason for being so emotionally distant and surrounding herself by [[WomanInWhite white-clad]] veiled servants all named "Deborah" is [[spoiler: The loss of her nursemaid, Deborah]]
* ButNotTooBlack: Bilhah
* ButNotTooForeign: Dinah takes on an Egyptianized version of her name, Den-ner, when she becomes a respected midwife there.
* CallingTheOldManOut
* CharacterDevelopment: Rachel starts off as a real [[{{Tsundere}} diva]], but as she finds her purpose (midwifery), she becomes more mature.
* CleanPrettyChildbirth: Very much averted.
* ClingyJealousGirl: Rachel
* CloserToEarth
* ComingOfAge
* CovertPervert: Dinah takes interest in listening to her older brother and his wife at night.
** Also, her otherwise very respectable mother Leah makes lots of dirty jokes in the company of the other women in the Red Tent.
* ADateWithRosiePalms
* DeathByChildbirth
* DefiledForever: As evidenced by her brothers' [[HonorRelatedAbuse nasty name-calling]], Dinah is [[MyGirlIsNotASlut regarded as this]] in their eyes for her sexual relationship with Prince Shalem.
* DespairEventHorizon: The death of Prince Shalem
** Also, the destruction of the Teraphim by Jacob
* [[NaughtyByNight Different In Private]]: The women act differently in the privacy of the Red Tent than they otherwise do. They are more outgoing, and they serve the goddesses of their homeland (rather than the [[{{God}} God of Jacob)]]
* DoesNotLikeMen: Zilpah
* DomesticAbuse: Laban treats Ruti so horribly that she [[spoiler: has an abortion so that she won't give him another child]]
** Also, Bilhah is badly beaten by Jacob after he caught her sleeping with Reuben.
* DreamingOfThingsToCome
* DrivenToMadness: This happens to Zilpah when Jacob destroys the Teraphim. [[spoiler: She becomes physically ill as well, and dies as a result.]]
** This is also how Jacob's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob%27s_ladder vision of the angels on the stairs]] (and famed fight with an angel) is viewed by the other characters in Diamant's novel.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Ruti slits her wrists after years of suffering under Laban]] Also [[spoiler: one of Simon's sons when he learns that his father won his mother by murdering every man in Shechem]].
* TheEmpath: Bilhah
* FaceHeelTurn: Jacob starts off as a genuinely nice, caring person, but as he gains more and more wealth and status, it kind of goes to his head.
* FairFolk: This is what Zilpah hopes she's carrying: a daughter (perhaps some kind of demi-goddess) who will come out fully-formed and magical. [[spoiler: She ends up having twin boys instead, though it almost kills her.]]
* {{Fanfiction}}: It's Diamant's take on a Bibical story, portrayed as "the other side of the story")
* FourthDateMarriage: Dinah has just met Prince Shalem, and shortly afterward, they are a married couple.
* GagPenis: Zilpah tells Rachel that Jacob has one of these, to make her afraid to go to the marriage bed so Leah can go instead.
* GenerationXerox: After Bilhah is flogged for sleeping with Reuben, she runs away (and is thought to have committed suicide), just like her own MissingMom.
* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Averted. [[spoiler:Ruti induces a miscarriage so as not to give her husband another child (that he'll probably just abuse) and the other women understand her choice]].
* HartmanHips: Leah
* HollywoodHomely: Leah (described in the Bible as being rather plain compared to Rachel) is [[InformedFlaw considered this]] because one of her eyes is green and one is blue, something she feels very self-conscious about. [[spoiler: Only because people used to tease her about it, and she only displays signs of self-consciousness around men.]] [[invoked]]
** Also, years of bearing children and nursing take a toll on her.
* [[IHaveNoSon I Have No Granddaughter]]: Rebecca not only kicks her daughter-in-law out for not performing the Ritual of Opening for Tabea, but [[JerkAss sends Tabea off with her]], even though it wasn't Tabea's fault.
* IllGirl: Adah, in her old age
** Also Leah, who wakes up completely paralyzed one day, with no explanation
** And Zilpah, after she crosses the DespairEventHorizon and is DrivenToMadness
* InsatiableNewlyweds
* IntergenerationalFriendship
* JerkAss: Laban, but also Simon and Levi
* KarmaHoudini: Dinah's brothers. They get a WhatTheHellHero, and in Literature/TheBible get their inheritance divided, but that's barely a slap on the wrist for destroying a whole village simply because they were worried for their status when their sister got involved with a prince.
* KnightTemplarBigBrother: Simon and Levi
* LawOfInverseFertility: Leah conceives very easily, but Rachel does not, despite trying every trick Inna has up her sleeves.
* {{Lolicon}}: [[ValuesDissonance Well, we would call it lolicon today.]] Inna helps a (married) girl through a [[DeconstructedTrope difficult birth]], [[spoiler: she doesn't make it]], and Inna bitterly comments later that the girl was too young to go through that.
** Later, Dinah helps out with a similar situation, and lashes out at the girl's husband for marrying her and impregnating her so early in life.
* [[LostHimInACardGame Lost Her In A Game Of Chance]]: Laban gambles away Ruti. [[spoiler: Leah and Jacob work together to rescue her, though.]]
* LoveAtFirstSight
* LoveInterest: Prince Shalem
* LoveTriangle: Between Jacob, Leah, and Rachel
* MamaBear: Adah
* TheMedic: Inna. Later, Dinah becomes this as she becomes a respected midwife along with her friend Meryt.
* MercyKilling: [[spoiler: Leah begs for poison, rather than live with her unexplained paralysis, and her servant girls oblige.]]
* {{Miko}}: Zilpah has assumed this role in her family, in a way.
* TheMourningAfter: [[spoiler: Inverted at the end]]
* TheMurderAfter: Subverted, as Dinah is not the suspect; she at first doesn't know who killed Shalem, but it's revealed that it was her brothers.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Jacob]], although (in all fairness) he did not directly orchestrate the events surrounding the destruction of the Shechemites. He only requested an outrageous bride price, after his favorite son Joseph suggested having the men circumcised when Simon complained about how "that uncircumcised dog" was lying with Dinah. The rest was all his sons' doing, which he does [[WhatTheHellHero call them out for.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Dinah's brothers believe they are [[RapeAndRevenge avenging a rape]] and saving her, and that's not the case in the novel.
** Even before that, when [[spoiler: Leah and Jacob work together to rescue Ruti from being taken away when her husband lost her in a bet.]] Sure, she gets to stay with her family, but her husband starts treating her even worse than he did before.
* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted; menstruation brings the women into the red tent, and brings them together. They regard it as a gift from the goddess Innana, that allows [[IncrediblyLamePun periodic]] renewal.
* NoPreggerSex: Although this is the customary rule, it was averted during Rachel's pregnancy with Joseph.
* NotSoDifferent: Jacob and Esau
* ParentalAbandonment: Bilhah's biological [[MissingMom mother]] ran away from Laban, leaving Bilhah behind.
* ParentalIncest: Laban molested his daughters (but stopped after his wife punished him severely for it)
* ParentsAsPeople: Jacob focuses more on his 12 sons than on his daughter, and Leah sometimes loses her patience with Dinah
* PoisonousFriend: Jacob becomes corrupt and greedy after he starts listening to Simon and Levi instead of Leah and Reuben.
* {{Polyamory}}: Just as in the {{Canon}} Bible story, but this time portrayed as orchestrated by the girls themselves (not Laban tricking Jacob into marrying his ChristmasCake Leah). Also, Jacob actually does love and care for his wives (well, in the beginning anyway), although Rachel is still his favorite.
* ThePowerOfBlood
* ThePowerOfFriendship
* ThePowerOfLove
* PregnantBadass: Dinah, by this time a seasoned midwife, has the presence of mind to [[spoiler: perform an episiotomy ''on herself'' as she struggles through a difficult birth]]
* RapeAsDrama: Poor Werenro...
* RiteOfPassage: The Ritual of Opening
* TheQuietOne: Bilhah. Dinah is arguably this, particularly after she [[DespairEventHorizon loses her husband.]]
* SecondLove: [[spoiler: Benia]]
* SexAsRiteOfPassage: Considering that the girl undergoing the ritual is masturbated with a small idol...
* ScreamingBirth
* ShownTheirWork: A lot of research on Ancient Mesopotamia went into this particular novel.
** Subverted, however, because Inanna was ''not'' a Mother Goddess. Although sometimes invoked for protection during childbirth and for increasing fertility, she [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna was associated with romantic/sexual love and with war]], not family and motherhood. Yet here she is portrayed as being The Great Mother.
** Also, no record of a Ritual of Opening is known from here. (And considering that Mesopotamian culture was very patriarchal, with women viewed as property to be "purchased" at marriage and their "honor" held as a reflection of their men's honor, it's not likely that such a ritual actually existed there. But ItMakesSenseInContext for the purpose of the story.)
* ShrinkingViolet: Bilhah
* SiblingRivalry: Rachel and Leah (though not to the same degree as the Biblical story)
* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: Dinah is left pregnant with Shalem's son, [[spoiler: but is forbidden by Shalem's grieving mother to even acknowledge the child as Shalem's.]]
* {{Squick}}: The childbirth scenes are described in great detail. [[invoked]]
** Also, the Ritual of Opening, wherein a girl's hymen is broken at her first period with a sacred object called a Teraphim, to offer the resultant blood to Innana.
* TeamMom: Leah. Also Inna
* ThisIsMyStory: The story begins thusly: "We have been lost to each other for so long. My name means nothing to you. My memory is dust" and continues in this vein for some time.
* {{Tsundere}}: Zilpah, Adah, Leah, Rachel
* TheUnfairSex: Most men in the story (with a couple of exceptions, such as Prince Shalem and Benia) are portrayed as selfish, arrogant, greedy, power-hungry jerks.
* TheUnfavorite: Just as in {{Canon}}, Leah, although it is clear that she is still loved and cared for, and Jacob is still attracted to her. (Just not on the same level as Rachel.)
** Also Bilhah, who tends to be somewhat of a loner from the very beginning
* [[VainSorceress Vain Priestess]] Rebecca
* ValuesDissonance: The women of Padan-Aram, who do the Ritual of Opening and celebrate the New Moon together, contrasted to the women of Canaan, who "prove" their virginity to their in-laws with the bloody sheets of the wedding night and are not familiar with the New Moon rituals. [[invoked]]
* WomensMysteries
''The Red Tent'' is a novel written by Anita Diamant, which expands on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinah the story of Dinah]] in the [[Literature/TheBible Book of Genesis.]] The original Bible story is about a young girl who was raped by a prince, and her brothers [[RapeAndRevenge killed every man in the prince's city-state for it.]] Diamant's novel expands on the story, and tells it from Dinah's perspective. Her encounter with the prince, for example, is not a rape in Diamant's novel; it was loving and consensual. The story narrates Dinah's life, such as spending time with the women of her family in a red tent designated for their "time of the month."
!!Tropes associated with ''The Red Tent'' include:
* AmbiguouslyGay: Possibly Zilpah (though she could also be [[{{Asexuality}} asexual)]]
* AncientEgypt: Dinah starts a new life there with her mother-in-law and a servant after her husband is killed.
* TheAlcoholic: Laban
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: InvokedTrope. These are Biblical characters, but forget what you were taught about them in Sunday school.
* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: At least Rachel thinks so
* TheBeautifulElite: Rachel.
* BellyDancer: When Dinah comes of age, the women celebrate in the Red Tent. In particular, Ahavah (one of her sisters-in-law) is described as dancing with her pregnant belly.
* BestialityIsDepraved: Laban has a habit of "bothering the sheep."
* BibleTimes
* BigScrewedUpFamily: After the destruction of the Shechemites, Jacob's family becomes this.
** Um, like it wasn't before?
* BittersweetEnding: Dinah dies peacefully in her old age, surrounded and mourned by her new family, although what's left of her old family barely acknowledges that she ever existed.
* BreakTheCutie
* BridePrice: Jacob demands an outrageous bride price for his only daughter (which Prince Shalem is both willing and able to pay), which sets into motion the unfortunate turn of events that takes place next.
* BrokenBird: Rebecca's reason for being so emotionally distant and surrounding herself by [[WomanInWhite white-clad]] veiled servants all named "Deborah" is [[spoiler: The loss of her nursemaid, Deborah]]
* ButNotTooBlack: Bilhah
* ButNotTooForeign: Dinah takes on an Egyptianized version of her name, Den-ner, when she becomes a respected midwife there.
* CallingTheOldManOut
* CharacterDevelopment: Rachel starts off as a real [[{{Tsundere}} diva]], but as she finds her purpose (midwifery), she becomes more mature.
* CleanPrettyChildbirth: Very much averted.
* ClingyJealousGirl: Rachel
* CloserToEarth
* ComingOfAge
* CovertPervert: Dinah takes interest in listening to her older brother and his wife at night.
** Also, her otherwise very respectable mother Leah makes lots of dirty jokes in the company of the other women in the Red Tent.
* ADateWithRosiePalms
* DeathByChildbirth
* DefiledForever: As evidenced by her brothers' [[HonorRelatedAbuse nasty name-calling]], Dinah is [[MyGirlIsNotASlut regarded as this]] in their eyes for her sexual relationship with Prince Shalem.
* DespairEventHorizon: The death of Prince Shalem
** Also, the destruction of the Teraphim by Jacob
* [[NaughtyByNight Different In Private]]: The women act differently in the privacy of the Red Tent than they otherwise do. They are more outgoing, and they serve the goddesses of their homeland (rather than the [[{{God}} God of Jacob)]]
* DoesNotLikeMen: Zilpah
* DomesticAbuse: Laban treats Ruti so horribly that she [[spoiler: has an abortion so that she won't give him another child]]
** Also, Bilhah is badly beaten by Jacob after he caught her sleeping with Reuben.
* DreamingOfThingsToCome
* DrivenToMadness: This happens to Zilpah when Jacob destroys the Teraphim. [[spoiler: She becomes physically ill as well, and dies as a result.]]
** This is also how Jacob's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob%27s_ladder vision of the angels on the stairs]] (and famed fight with an angel) is viewed by the other characters in Diamant's novel.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Ruti slits her wrists after years of suffering under Laban]] Also [[spoiler: one of Simon's sons when he learns that his father won his mother by murdering every man in Shechem]].
* TheEmpath: Bilhah
* FaceHeelTurn: Jacob starts off as a genuinely nice, caring person, but as he gains more and more wealth and status, it kind of goes to his head.
* FairFolk: This is what Zilpah hopes she's carrying: a daughter (perhaps some kind of demi-goddess) who will come out fully-formed and magical. [[spoiler: She ends up having twin boys instead, though it almost kills her.]]
* {{Fanfiction}}: It's Diamant's take on a Bibical story, portrayed as "the other side of the story")
* FourthDateMarriage: Dinah has just met Prince Shalem, and shortly afterward, they are a married couple.
* GagPenis: Zilpah tells Rachel that Jacob has one of these, to make her afraid to go to the marriage bed so Leah can go instead.
* GenerationXerox: After Bilhah is flogged for sleeping with Reuben, she runs away (and is thought to have committed suicide), just like her own MissingMom.
* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Averted. [[spoiler:Ruti induces a miscarriage so as not to give her husband another child (that he'll probably just abuse) and the other women understand her choice]].
* HartmanHips: Leah
* HollywoodHomely: Leah (described in the Bible as being rather plain compared to Rachel) is [[InformedFlaw considered this]] because one of her eyes is green and one is blue, something she feels very self-conscious about. [[spoiler: Only because people used to tease her about it, and she only displays signs of self-consciousness around men.]] [[invoked]]
** Also, years of bearing children and nursing take a toll on her.
* [[IHaveNoSon I Have No Granddaughter]]: Rebecca not only kicks her daughter-in-law out for not performing the Ritual of Opening for Tabea, but [[JerkAss sends Tabea off with her]], even though it wasn't Tabea's fault.
* IllGirl: Adah, in her old age
** Also Leah, who wakes up completely paralyzed one day, with no explanation
** And Zilpah, after she crosses the DespairEventHorizon and is DrivenToMadness
* InsatiableNewlyweds
* IntergenerationalFriendship
* JerkAss: Laban, but also Simon and Levi
* KarmaHoudini: Dinah's brothers. They get a WhatTheHellHero, and in Literature/TheBible get their inheritance divided, but that's barely a slap on the wrist for destroying a whole village simply because they were worried for their status when their sister got involved with a prince.
* KnightTemplarBigBrother: Simon and Levi
* LawOfInverseFertility: Leah conceives very easily, but Rachel does not, despite trying every trick Inna has up her sleeves.
* {{Lolicon}}: [[ValuesDissonance Well, we would call it lolicon today.]] Inna helps a (married) girl through a [[DeconstructedTrope difficult birth]], [[spoiler: she doesn't make it]], and Inna bitterly comments later that the girl was too young to go through that.
** Later, Dinah helps out with a similar situation, and lashes out at the girl's husband for marrying her and impregnating her so early in life.
* [[LostHimInACardGame Lost Her In A Game Of Chance]]: Laban gambles away Ruti. [[spoiler: Leah and Jacob work together to rescue her, though.]]
* LoveAtFirstSight
* LoveInterest: Prince Shalem
* LoveTriangle: Between Jacob, Leah, and Rachel
* MamaBear: Adah
* TheMedic: Inna. Later, Dinah becomes this as she becomes a respected midwife along with her friend Meryt.
* MercyKilling: [[spoiler: Leah begs for poison, rather than live with her unexplained paralysis, and her servant girls oblige.]]
* {{Miko}}: Zilpah has assumed this role in her family, in a way.
* TheMourningAfter: [[spoiler: Inverted at the end]]
* TheMurderAfter: Subverted, as Dinah is not the suspect; she at first doesn't know who killed Shalem, but it's revealed that it was her brothers.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Jacob]], although (in all fairness) he did not directly orchestrate the events surrounding the destruction of the Shechemites. He only requested an outrageous bride price, after his favorite son Joseph suggested having the men circumcised when Simon complained about how "that uncircumcised dog" was lying with Dinah. The rest was all his sons' doing, which he does [[WhatTheHellHero call them out for.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Dinah's brothers believe they are [[RapeAndRevenge avenging a rape]] and saving her, and that's not the case in the novel.
** Even before that, when [[spoiler: Leah and Jacob work together to rescue Ruti from being taken away when her husband lost her in a bet.]] Sure, she gets to stay with her family, but her husband starts treating her even worse than he did before.
* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted; menstruation brings the women into the red tent, and brings them together. They regard it as a gift from the goddess Innana, that allows [[IncrediblyLamePun periodic]] renewal.
* NoPreggerSex: Although this is the customary rule, it was averted during Rachel's pregnancy with Joseph.
* NotSoDifferent: Jacob and Esau
* ParentalAbandonment: Bilhah's biological [[MissingMom mother]] ran away from Laban, leaving Bilhah behind.
* ParentalIncest: Laban molested his daughters (but stopped after his wife punished him severely for it)
* ParentsAsPeople: Jacob focuses more on his 12 sons than on his daughter, and Leah sometimes loses her patience with Dinah
* PoisonousFriend: Jacob becomes corrupt and greedy after he starts listening to Simon and Levi instead of Leah and Reuben.
* {{Polyamory}}: Just as in the {{Canon}} Bible story, but this time portrayed as orchestrated by the girls themselves (not Laban tricking Jacob into marrying his ChristmasCake Leah). Also, Jacob actually does love and care for his wives (well, in the beginning anyway), although Rachel is still his favorite.
* ThePowerOfBlood
* ThePowerOfFriendship
* ThePowerOfLove
* PregnantBadass: Dinah, by this time a seasoned midwife, has the presence of mind to [[spoiler: perform an episiotomy ''on herself'' as she struggles through a difficult birth]]
* RapeAsDrama: Poor Werenro...
* RiteOfPassage: The Ritual of Opening
* TheQuietOne: Bilhah. Dinah is arguably this, particularly after she [[DespairEventHorizon loses her husband.]]
* SecondLove: [[spoiler: Benia]]
* SexAsRiteOfPassage: Considering that the girl undergoing the ritual is masturbated with a small idol...
* ScreamingBirth
* ShownTheirWork: A lot of research on Ancient Mesopotamia went into this particular novel.
** Subverted, however, because Inanna was ''not'' a Mother Goddess. Although sometimes invoked for protection during childbirth and for increasing fertility, she [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna was associated with romantic/sexual love and with war]], not family and motherhood. Yet here she is portrayed as being The Great Mother.
** Also, no record of a Ritual of Opening is known from here. (And considering that Mesopotamian culture was very patriarchal, with women viewed as property to be "purchased" at marriage and their "honor" held as a reflection of their men's honor, it's not likely that such a ritual actually existed there. But ItMakesSenseInContext for the purpose of the story.)
* ShrinkingViolet: Bilhah
* SiblingRivalry: Rachel and Leah (though not to the same degree as the Biblical story)
* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: Dinah is left pregnant with Shalem's son, [[spoiler: but is forbidden by Shalem's grieving mother to even acknowledge the child as Shalem's.]]
* {{Squick}}: The childbirth scenes are described in great detail. [[invoked]]
** Also, the Ritual of Opening, wherein a girl's hymen is broken at her first period with a sacred object called a Teraphim, to offer the resultant blood to Innana.
* TeamMom: Leah. Also Inna
* ThisIsMyStory: The story begins thusly: "We have been lost to each other for so long. My name means nothing to you. My memory is dust" and continues in this vein for some time.
* {{Tsundere}}: Zilpah, Adah, Leah, Rachel
* TheUnfairSex: Most men in the story (with a couple of exceptions, such as Prince Shalem and Benia) are portrayed as selfish, arrogant, greedy, power-hungry jerks.
* TheUnfavorite: Just as in {{Canon}}, Leah, although it is clear that she is still loved and cared for, and Jacob is still attracted to her. (Just not on the same level as Rachel.)
** Also Bilhah, who tends to be somewhat of a loner from the very beginning
* [[VainSorceress Vain Priestess]] Rebecca
* ValuesDissonance: The women of Padan-Aram, who do the Ritual of Opening and celebrate the New Moon together, contrasted to the women of Canaan, who "prove" their virginity to their in-laws with the bloody sheets of the wedding night and are not familiar with the New Moon rituals. [[invoked]]
* WomensMysteries
