How can we account for and justify the sexism Eve faces before eating the apple? If the apple was the thing that unleashed knowledge of evil unto humanity, why was she dealing with gender politics? Shouldn’t inequality be included in the “fuck mankind” category?
“Whence true autority in men; though both
Not equal, as thir sex not equal seemd;
For contemplation hee and valour formd,
For softness shee and sweet attractive Grace,
Hee for God only, shee for God in him:
His fair large Front and Eye sublime declar’d
Absolute rule;”
81
This passage from Book IV lays it out very openly – they were not equal because they did not appear equal to Satan or God. This clear evidence of patriarchy existing prior to eating the apple proves Eve couldn’t have damned humanity. Unfortunately, one of the conclusions I draw from this is that patriarchy cannot be that bad. If it exists in Paradise, then of course it’ll exist outside of it!
“To whom thus Eve repli’d. O thou for whom [ 440 ]
And from whom I was formd flesh of thy flesh,
And without whom am to no end, my Guide
And Head, what thou hast said is just and right”
85
When God created Eden, it was just for Adam. Eve came along as an afterthought to keep Adam company, bear his children, and perform various other types of labor around Eden. Why should she follow the rules? It’s not her Paradise. What’s the worst that can happen to her? She continues to get belittled for her gender? Eve was screwed from the start. The rest of humanities struggles can be tied to the apple, but patriarchy is there from the start regardless of if Eve knows it or not.
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Period.
I think one of the most frustrating things about Genesis is that everyone pins everything on Eve. It relates to Beowulf because Kane and Abel are Adam and Eve’s children. Even though most people blame Abel and Kane for humanity’s sins, it always somehow links back to Eve.
This is a really interesting post! I would definitely agree, Eve receives way too much hate for her role in the story. While yes, she is the one who is convinced by Satan to eat the apple, Eve is placed in an unfair position in that, as you noted, she is created at the desire of Adam and is therefore seen as less than. This patriarchal hierarchy therefore does not give her the tools to make an informed decision about the apple. In addition, her choice to convince Adam to consume the apple is, one can argue, done out of desperation for survival. If Eve disappears, as mentioned in class, Adam can just request a new woman and Eve would be condemned. Therefore, Adam must make the mistake as well so she can continue to exist at all.
I think that this is something that is important to talk about, and I am glad I read it. Eve is pushed into such a little role because she was seen as less than, she was not seen as Adam’s equal but just a breeder to populate. I wrote an essay for another class on women being seen as breeders and how much I hate it so don’t come for me for saying that lol. I like how you said she was screwed from the start and how patriarchy was there no matter what, definitely something that isn’t though about enough when it comes to Adam and Eve.
Hey fantastic work with this post. I loved the sentence you wrote that says, “Unfortunately, one of the conclusions I draw from this is that patriarchy cannot be that bad. If it exists in Paradise, then of course it’ll exist outside of it!” The paradise spoken of here is one tailored for old white men. The patriarchy was paradise for men at this time, as the distribution of wealth and rights were tipped entirely to the male side of the scale. I love how you continue to frame Eve as this rebellious character who shouldn’t care for the rules, as you’re right, it’s not her paradise. Great work!
I have SOOOO many issues with creation of Eve in the biblical sense starting with the literal “birth” of her. Adam had an equal in every way before Eve, Lilith (who some relate to being the snake that tempts Eve in the end). Adam didn’t like that Lilith wasn’t subservient of him so he got God to banish her from the garden and then create a better form of “woman” using one of Adams ribs literally creating the meaning that women exist because we came from man. (You could also argue the idea of God being depicted as a man when it would make more sense that they would be gender less since everyone is created in their image). I get why you would defend Eve, Eve had no chance EVER or being an equal, the biblical story made sure of that.
For some reason, the thought that Eve was kind of fucked no matter what she did didn’t occur to me. I never blamed her for eating the apple in the first place because how could I honestly? I probably would have eaten the stupid apple too because as humans, we’re naturally curious!! But I completely agree with you – what the heck did Eve have to lose that she even knew of? There’s another story that isn’t really touched upon in Paradise Lost where Adam’s first wife was Lilith. Lilith wanted to be truly equal to Adam and was kicked out of Eden for it, however she was also turned into a demon (the mother of demons) and was cursed to only have stillborn children. Technically Eve did have some to lose, but nothing she was really aware of anyway.
Hii I loved this post! I love how you brought light to the fact that the paradise spoken of is one that is perfect for old white men. Paradise was only for men at this time. Wealth and rights were tipped entirely on the male side. Although yes I also 100% agree that Eve is a rebellious character who shouldn’t care for the rules, it’s not her paradise, so why hell not!