The Red Tent Quotes
"The chain connecting mother to daughter was broken and the word passed to the keeping of men, who had no way of knowing."
"If you want to understand any woman you must first ask about her mother and then listen carefully."
"The more a daughter knows the details of her mother’s life—without flinching or whining—the stronger the daughter."
"Stories about food show a strong connection. Wistful silences demonstrate unfinished business."
"My heart is a ladle of sweet water, brimming over."
"It is terrible how much has been forgotten, which is why, I suppose, remembering seems a holy thing."
"Blessings on your eyes. Blessings on your children. Blessings on the ground beneath you."
"Their stories were like offerings of hope and strength poured out before the Queen of Heaven, only these gifts were not for any god or goddess—but for me."
"I can still feel how my mothers loved me. I have cherished their love always. It sustained me. It kept me alive."
"I watched babies open their eyes upon a new world. I found cause for laughter and gratitude. I was loved."
"Daughters eased their mothers’ burdens—helping with the spinning, the grinding of grain, and the endless task of looking after baby boys."
"Sons were a woman’s pride and her measure. But the birth of one boy after another was not an unalloyed source of joy."
"The flavor of gratitude is like the nectar of the hive."
"I understood my sisters’ willingness to lie with him. And then I was newly jealous for all the years that I had missed of the wild sweetness between lovers."
"I could feel the hot wall of anger between my father and my grandfather."
"But there was nothing to be done, and after several attempts at coaxing her out of her misery, my mother stood up and moved on."
"I was in awe of our numbers and what seemed our great wealth."
"I did not go to my blanket until they had left the water and returned the river to continue his peaceful journey through the night, undisturbed."
"Even though I had fallen in love with the river, I could see that at his deepest point, the water lapped against my father's waist."
"The great mother whom we call Innana is a fierce warrior and Death's bridesmaid."
"In the red tent, where days pass like a gentle stream, as the gift of Innana courses through us."
"Women give thanks—for repose and restoration, for the knowledge that life comes from between our legs."
"This is the secret of blood. The flow at the dark of the moon, the healing blood of the moon’s birth."
"The great mother whom we call Innana gave a gift to woman that is not known among men."
"Esau’s wives, the daughters of Edom, whom Rebecca despises, give no lesson or welcome to their young women when they come of age."
"Rebecca spoke to your father, and it has been arranged without my…"
"I was determined not to weep, so I kept my mouth closed, breathed through my nose, and kept my eyes from blinking."
"I hated Rebecca as I had never hated anyone."
"It was as though I had walked through a cave filled with jewels and picked up only a handful of gray pebbles."
"The most important beauty treatment of all was to smell sweet."
"But even Leah was not good enough for Jacob, who deserved a perfect mate."
"When the Oracle spoke, no contradictions were permitted."
"I never learned to love my grandmother. I could not forget or forgive what she had done to Tabea. Nevertheless, the day came when I honored her."
"Rebecca saw my open mouth and explained with a shrug, 'Only thieves come looking for business miracles.'"
"There is no other way," said the Oracle, in a loud, formal voice. She dismissed him with a wave of her hand.
"Although I never saw her show such tenderness to anyone else, I could not forget the way she took that little boy’s pain into her own hands."
"In silence, I mourned the loss of my best friend as sorrowfully as if I had wrapped her in a shroud."
"I was grateful that my path rarely brought me in contact with them. They frightened me with their black looks and the long knives that always hung from their belts."
"Fear not, the time is coming. Fear not, your bones are strong. Fear not, help is nearby."
"You are safe from that fate," she said. "Your mother will not let them turn your maidenhood into a prize."
"Mountains are where heaven meets earth," said Zilpah, satisfied that she would find inspiration.
"It won’t be long now, my girl," she told me, with a leer. "Your time is coming."
"But by then, my light heart had gone out of me, and I was content just listening to the sounds of the marketplace."
"I will build you a tomb of surpassing beauty," Shalem said. "The world will never forget the name of Dinah."
"She will be honored in my husband’s house, and after your death we will honor your memory with a fine stele with your name on the west side."
"I served as I could," I said quietly and turned his question aside, for what can a woman tell a man about babies and blood?
"Hospitality is the gods’ own treasure," I said, placing my forehead to the ground before the baker.
"Only let me press out the beer," she asked. "I could sweep the roof," I proposed.
"He will be born whole, and soon. If not tonight, then tomorrow."
"Call me and I will help you upon the bricks and cut the cord."
"This one will die like the others before. I am hated by the gods."
"I am pleased, my son. You are a fine man who will do honor to this house."
"I wish you happiness, a kind wife, and many children."
"I am proud of you, and proud to be your mother."
"Fear not, little mother. This boy will be fine."