The Dovekeepers

The Dovekeepers features four female protagonists, whose stories explore the challenges that women must face while navigating their statuses and roles in their patriarchal society. Throughout these four narratives, the text explores the solidarity and resilience of women.

The Dovekeepers presents a society in which women have a subordinate role. Yael, Revka, Shirah, and Aziza face many limitations. They are supposed to obey their fathers and husbands, largely confining their activities to the domestic sphere. Even the slightest hint of dissent or difference from a woman can lead to accusations of witchcraft, as is the case with Shirah and her magical spells. Revka observes that the dominant belief of her time is that women cannot understand the nature of Adonai or God, which implies that they are inherently inferior. Women’s matters, such as menstruation, childbirth, and domestic issues are considered “unclean” and outside the more important concerns of men. In sexual relationships, the burden of purity falls on the women: For instance, though Ben Simon is over a decade older than the teenaged Yael, it is Yael whom her father blames for “tempting” the married man.

Despite these obstacles, all four of the female protagonists demonstrate their continued resilience.