Conclusions on The Red Tent

These are my conclusions after going over the book, and discussing it with my group.  The book was a really interesting look into the lives of women during biblical times.  I read the actual story from the bible.  In the original story, there is almost no mention of women.  The story briefly mentions Jacob's LEGAL wives, Rachel and Leah, but does not mention Zilpah or Bilhah.  It is completely from the man's point of view, whereas The Red Tent is completely from a women's point of view.  In the bible story Dinah is a passing mention; she is barely mentioned as the cause for the fighting and the trouble according to the men.  To me this is interesting to think about in terms of other historical accounts.  How much are we missing because of the male author's inattention to women? Their part in history was undeniably important, but how much do we have wrong? There's perhaps no way to know the answers to these questions, but that is part of the reason I enjoyed this book so much.  It shows us an example of how women may have had a larger part in the course of history than we know about know.  It gives us a new perspective on all the old stories.  Another author that I really enjoy who gives a new persepctive on women's lives in the past is Philippa Gregory.  She mainly writes about the lives of royal women of the past.  These books really make me think about how the