Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Taylor Overman
Miss Akers
Honors English 9
From the book of Genesis, there is the story of Adam and Eve, both of whom are the first
of their gender. Eve and her husband live in the Garden of Eden and are told by God not to eat
fruit from the tree of knowledge. After being tricked into eating a fruit from the forbidden tree,
Eve, along with Adam, is banished from the Garden of Eden and given severe punishments for
her actions. Eve suffered terribly, her punishments being struggle and pain with childbirth, and
always being subordinate to man. These two adverse punishments explain quite a bit about
women's role in the bible and the societies who followed it.
The most obvious reason that Eves punishments have such a big impact is where they
put her and the rest of women in society, below men. In the story Forbidden Fruit, God says to
Eve: You will desire your husband, but he will be your master (19). The insubordination of
Eve, and in turn the entire gender, is a defining moment in the bible. It puts women and their
opinions below opinions of men, making them underrepresented in this piece of literature. It also
shows how a simple mistake made by one woman puts a bad reputation on women for the rest of
the story.
Because of Eves punishment, and how it deems her and women alike incompetent, her
role in the Bible dramatically changes from what it could have been. When punishing Adam,
God tells Adam that he will have to work every day for what he needs to live. This punishment
does not dehumanize Adam, compared to Eves extremely dehumanizing punishment. God also
says to Adam: Because you have listened to your wife and have eaten from the tree which I
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forbade you... (19). When God says that to Adam, he makes Adam believe that Eve is not to be
trusted, therefore delegitimizing anything Eve says. Adam no longer trusts Eve, showing that the
punishments God gave to her were not the only ones that she received. This dehumanization and
delegitimization of Eve and her thoughts and ideas lowered her status as a character in the bible,
As said before, the role of women in the bible was lessened dramatically from what it
could have been if Eve and the rest of women were not subjugated to their husbands. This is
evident from how men are the only people who do important things in the bible, such as
Abraham, Adam, Noah, and Moses. All of these men had very big roles, while women had
smaller parts of less importance. What women had to say, and specifically Eve, was mostly
disregarded or not trusted. This is evident from the story of Cain when almost everything that
Eve has to say is disputed or ignored by not only her husband but also her family. At one point
Eve says: Why doesnt He eat the divine effluvium of Cains vegetables (43). Abel and Adam
both dispute the point, Adam says: Mother, dont mix the relations of man with God.
Remember what happened last time (43). Adam uses Eves previous mistake to delegitimize her
argument and disregards her argument. Eve tries to claim that it was only a mistake but Adam
refutes her and does not listen, as she is below him. Even despite the fifth commandment, Abel
speaks to his father with respect, while he appears to have none for his mother. Abel addresses
his father as sir, and speaks humbly while talking to his mother he is blatant when he speaks and
Another woman from the Bible who does not suffer as Eve did, but is still feeling the
effects of Eves actions is Sarah, wife of Abraham. Although Sarah is not specifically mistreated
by Abraham, as Adam mistreats Eve, Sarah is not regarded as Abrahams equal. Most notably is
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how her only obvious purpose is to provide a child for Abraham that will be his heir. The sad
truth that in the Bible the main role of the woman is to bear a child is most likely because of how
Eve is treated as below her husband, and therefore women are treated as below their husbands
Thus, it is shown through the Bible that Eves lamentable punishment lead to horrible
oppression for her, and oppression for other female biblical characters. This oppression of women in the
bible may have led to oppression of women, in reality, a problem, which, unfortunately, still affects us
today. This turning point for an entire gender is crucial to the understanding of this oppression, mainly
because Eve is the first woman, and she sets the standard for what women are and how they are seen in
the Bible.