Reuben

Reuben was the eldest son of Jacob and traditional ancestor of the tribe of Reuben. Biblical narratives portray him as attempting to save Joseph but also losing precedence because of an offence within Jacob’s household.

Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent places Reuben within a narrative shaped by family, marriage and personal loyalty, social change and the pressures of ordinary life, and court politics and dynastic power.