Anita Diamant's refusal to limit The Red Tent to its biblical roots is what retains believability, reader engagement, and characterization. Often when a novel has basis in the Bible, previous knowledge of the tale reduces the gullibility of the reader, however, Diamant retains believability throughout The Red Tent. The events Diamant details throughout The Red Tent are all plausible, yet most are fictional. Some scenes not mentioned in the bible have just enough fantasy to keep the reader interested, and just enough credibility to be believed. Such scene was the love story between Shalem and Dinah. In the original script of the bible, Shalem "seized her, and lay with her and humbled her" (USSCB Genesis 34:2). However, instead of the rape that occurred in the bible passage, Diamant tells a romantic tale of love at first sight. When Shalem meets Dinah in the castle "there was light between the prince and [her]" (Diamant …show more content…
Diamant is able to keep the attention of the reader through familiar inconveniences and actions that interest modern-day readers. There is a multitude of scenes with action and love. Both ideas that draw the attention of numerous readers. After the love of Dinah's life is brutally murdered, she must run off in the night with a queen after cursing her family. Murder, suspense, and intrigue are all factors that create an action-packed story to interest readers. Not only the content of the scenes is interesting, but the graphic descriptions that create a picture in the reader's mind. In the murder of Shalem, Dinah's love she is woken "covered in blood... [Shalem's] blood coated [her] cheeks and salted [her] lips" (Diamant 293). The vivid descriptions of a gruesome murder further entice the reader to pay attention to the tale. The content and description both are major tools in Diamant's writing that keep reader