The Lingering Scent of Lotus

The story was told in first person, by Dinah, a minor character in the Bible. For those familiar with Jacob and the twelve tribes of Israel, you might remember the girl as a victim that hardly had a face: She was raped by Shelem, an Egyptian prince who lived in Shechem. Angered by this violation, her brothers Simeon and Levi tricked the Egyptians into circumcision, and wiped out the town when its male citizens were at their weakest…

When we studied the Bible at university, I was often shocked by the cruelty and self-righteousness of the Old Testament. The idea of a furious God and a chosen race only brought confusion and distaste, so when ma belle-mère handed me this feminist version, I was not particularly eager to read it, but as I read the first few pages, I felt a spell cast on me. The author, Anita Diamant, possesses the charm of an ancient story-teller and the skills of a sorceress. She could summon spirits, and carry you off to a far-away land. As Dinah unfolded her stories, I walked with her through Canaan and Egypt, and saw how women lived in Biblical times.

Dinah had four mothers (Jacob’s four wives), each representing an intriguing side of femininity: Leah was strong and practical, Rachel beautiful and open-minded, Zilpah spiritual and thoughtful, and Bilhah observant and kind. At each new moon, they rested in the red tent, a place that belonged to women. Being the only daughter, Dinah was permitted into the tent since she was a baby. She carefully studied her mothers, and learnt the meaning of being a woman.

It was not surprising at all that she would see the same world in a different light. According to this version, she entered the premarital relationship willingly, and was not raped by the Egyptian prince. After her husband’s violent death in her bridal bed, she went into exile, and embarked on an ever-so-long journey of reconciling the present with the past.

A midwife by trade, Dinah delivered life and grappled with death. She was blessed with friendship from women, and when she finally closed her eyes, she was welcomed by the mothers she met in her life.

Dinah did not become a foreseer like her grandmother. Her story was that of a common woman. To her, life was not defined by great battles but by simple pleasures one could collect in the river of time. At the end of the book, she praised the perfume of Egyptian lotus, a lingering smell that lasted through generations. “It is the same with people who are loved.” She said. This is why we would sometimes feel that our mothers are living inside us, through us.