Once upon a time, in a land distant from this land and a time distant in the memories of people today, there existed stories that spanned across hundreds of miles and dozens of years, plains of existence, and even realities. It’s a beautifully tangled web of fantastic fairy tales, imagination intermingled with realism – hints of facts artfully crafted into lure to both amuse and instruct future generations – and, verily, a symphony of memory and immortality, for those in such stories survive and will go on until either the tale is forgotten or the end of time – whichever is first. And then, should it be the former, it would slip from continuation only because the holder of the tale died before breathing new life into it for the next generation to tell the tale further. This tradition holds true for both these ancient anecdotes as well as modern myths, and those audience members who are privy to such folios could best see the tradition upheld in Anita Diamant’s novel The Red Tent – a narrative of Dinah, daughter to Jacob of the Biblical Genesis and mentioned only in passing – as well as the hugely popular animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender created in 2005 by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. In the show, which draws heavily from Asian myth and culture, a group of widely unique people from across the world are brought together to restore balance and save the planet. Though hugely different, both of these epics draw on strong female characters to both move the plot along and make the story memorable, engaging, and somewhat factual. It seems that women are used as a type of building block in which to ground fantastical stories as well as keep everything – the plot, the characters, and the legend – together.
Both authors begin their tale with strong, engaging, and captivating openings that suck their audience into the story, interesting them to dive deeper. Diamant writes,
We have been lost to each other for so long. My name means nothing to you. My memory is dust. This is not your fault, or mine. The chain connecting mother to daughter was broken and the word passed to the keeping of men, who had no way of knowing. (Diamant, 1)
This language is just one of Diamant’s skills in drawing in her readers. To take it apart, even the first line is very powerful – very mighty: “We have been lost to each other for so long” (Diamant, 1). It almost seems like faint echoes from the past, for when reading the text, the reader can almost hear the words being said aloud. Likewise, DiMartino and Konietzko also have a strong introduction to their program – and it’s aired at the beginning of every single episode, further serving to enthrall the audience. This opening begins with the voice-over of Katara, one of the main female characters, voiced by Mae Whitman; she starts with the four elements,
“Water, Earth, Fire, Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar; an Airbender named Aang. Although his Airbending skills are great, he still has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone. But I believe Aang can save the world…” (Absolute Anime )
The viewer, like with Diamant’s novel, is able to hear the words – obviously, since it’s a televised cartoon show. However, Mae Whitman could just as easily be reading the words of Diamant cum Dinah, her voice slightly husky with the lyrical rising and falling that anyone would expect for the aching beauty of the words written.
The similarities aren’t just with the text itself, although that is important. Like any good, multi-faceted work of art, these characters connect and can easily intermingle should they ever magically jump off the page or step out of the television and into this reality.
The characters hold many of the same roles and positions in society and life. Dinah learns midwifery from Rachel, who, in turn, learned it from Inna (Diamant, 38-39,179). Katara is a healer of the Southern Water Tribe, one of the only ones and definitely the best (Absolute Anime). However, while Dinah had “four” mothers growing up, Katara was the mother figure (Diamant, Absolute Anime). When the Fire Nation attacked the Southern Water Tribe, of which Katara and her family belong to, her mother was killed by firebenders (Absolute Anime). Kya, Katara’s mother, was the last waterbender in the tribe, or so the Fire Nation thought; it’s unknown whether or not Kya was really even a bender, but she died protecting Katara (Absolute Anime). Unknown to Katara and the rest of the tribe, the girl is actually the last bender, thus her mother’s sacrifice (Absolute Anime). Dinah, because she lived in ancient times, had a father with several wives; only one, Leah, was her actual birth mother, and she was one of the last born and the only girl (Diamant). Therefore, it wasn’t uncommon for a child to call the other wives mother as well, for each teaches the child something important – Leah was the actual mother, Rachel taught her midwifery, Zilpha was the teacher of stories, and Bilha taught spinning (Diamant).
The two different characters, however, are both the only daughter in the family – Katara has only one brother, Sokka, but Dinah has numerous brothers; however, both are the youngest and babied from time to time (Diamant, Absolute Anime). Sokka is very protective of his baby sister. In one episode a little later in the series when Aang tries to master firebending, he accidently burns Katara (here is where she also learns that she has strong healing abilities) because he doesn’t balance in inner chi well enough to control the flame (Absolute Anime). Sokka, of course, being the elder of the two and wary of anything dealing with fire, instantly snaps at Aang, even though it was obvious to everyone that it was an accident (Absolute Anime). Likewise, in the novel when the family stops to make camp, Dinah wonders off a little too far and is raped by the price of Shachem, the city by which they settled (Diamant). Her older brothers are none too happy about that fact, and they devise a plan (Diamant). The prince had fallen in love with the woman after raping her, and he begged for her hand in marriage; the men in the family said that that wasn’t possible since the prince wasn’t circumcised (Diamant). So the price and his father sent an edict that all the men were to be circumcised, and while they were still sore from the snipping, the brothers sneaked into the city and slaughtered all the men (Diamant). It would seem, however, that that’s the general role older brothers play when it comes to their younger sister. No matter how innocent, accidental, or malevolent the actions of others are towards their baby sister, older brothers have always and will always overreact. That’s not to say that the events which preceded these overreactions – in this case, the rape and the burning – were minor or didn’t warrant some overreaction; rather that the reactions were a bit on the extreme side. It could be because it’s the primal male hardwiring that drives that over-protectiveness, or perhaps no one is good enough for their little sister because she’s the baby sister. Either way, the actions seem to take the audience a little by surprise; however, on some deeper level, viewers of this strange spectacle are warmed by the love shown by these older male siblings. Brothers tend not to be as openly loving at sisters are, therefore, in some odd way, observers are able to understand that these sometimes harsh displays are really a type of Morse code for, “I love my baby sister very much, so back off, because I don’t like something about you.”
That’s not where the similarities end between these two women, however. Both Dinah and Katara are a type of healer – granted, they heal people in two very different ways but both healers nonetheless. Dinah uses midwifery – her knowledge of herbs, potions, and concoctions to sooth both mother and child before, during, and after delivery (Diamant). Katara uses the ancient art of waterbending to heal those around her – she’s able to manipulate the element of water to her will, and when she chooses to use it to heal, the water will glow a gentle blue (Absolute Anime). One is a learned skill – something external – that can easily be passed on, whereas the other is an instinctual skill – something internal – that can still be passed on but only to those who already possess that innate ability (Diamant, Absolute Anime). It would seem, however, that both skills take much time to master and much dedication to perform them well. Likewise, both of these talents aren’t responsibilities to be taken lightly. Lives are in the hands of both Katara and Dinah, some of them innocent children. Another thing that both benders and midwives share is the ability to take life as well. Katara is able to also whip water around, freeze it into dagger-like shards, hurling them at enemies, weasel water from any substance in which water is found, and even control the blood of others (since it is a liquid), tele-physically bending others (usually enemies) to her every whim and will (Absolute Anime). This is just one example of bending – depending on what element someone is able to control, there are multiple things with which they’d be able to do (Absolute Anime). Midwives are also able to control and take lives. They know which herbs to make teas and/or brews out of to abort a child or close the womb to prevent a pregnancy (Diamant). If the child is somehow deformed or has some other ailment, the midwife will either recommend that the child be placed outside to die or just do the deed without parental consultation (Diamant).
These women may lead very different lives, may or may not have existed, and were hundreds of thousands of miles apart, but they were similar. There was a common bond shared between them, and women today still share this same kind of bond, daresay. Women are still mothers, sisters, fighters, lovers, and healers. They’re still very brave in the actions they undertake, even if it is only being a mother. It’s not about being a hero to everyone; if she’s a hero to even one person, she’s that person’s entire world. That’s really the most important thing, when it comes right down to it.
Works cited
1) Absolute Anime. “Avatar: The Last Airbender” Last access date: 11/01/11
2) Diamant, Anita. “The Red Tent” A Wyatt Book for St. Martin’s Press. Fifth Ave, New York, NY. 1997.
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