5. The biblical figure of Eve is wrongly blamed for the fall of man from paradise and ascribed as the progenitor of the Christian fear of “original sin”
Eve is a legendary figure in the creation myth of the Abrahamic religious traditions, serving as the first woman. Created by God from the rib of Adam, the first man, so that he might enjoy companionship, Eve engages in conversation with a duplicitous serpent who encourages her to eat of the fruit from the tree of knowledge; in penance for this crime against God both Adam and Eve are exiled from paradise, with Eve additionally penalized with the roles of childbearing and subservience to her husband.
Due to her role in the fall of man, resulting in the pain and suffering of all mankind ever since, Eve is commonly held at fault and responsible in a similar manner to Pandora. The Apostle Paul promoted the submission of women due to Eve’s temptation of Adam, Tertullian blamed all women as responsible for the death of Christ to wash away her sins, and Saint Augustine’s enshrinement of the doctrine of “original sin” – which dictates that humanity exists in a state of sin as a result of our ancestral exile from Eden – was based on the sin of Eve; in a similar manner, the Council of Macon in 585 CE considered the issue that “woman” could not be included under the term “mankind” due to Eve’s misdeed, and throughout Renaissance art, the serpent of the garden was frequently depicted as that of Eve herself.
However, this interpretation is greatly unfair to the mythical character of Eve. Firstly, Eve was not present at God’s warning to Adam concerning the tree of knowledge; although Adam ate at Eve’s request, he was the one most informed concerning the proscription. Furthermore, as represented in scripture Adam is supposed to have dominion over Eve as her husband and master, and thus any mistakes by her are ultimately his responsibility. At best, Adam and Eve are equally at fault for the fall of mankind from paradise – if one even regards the eternal damnation proclaimed by God as justification for their meager sin – and thus Eve, like Pandora, serves as merely a scapegoat to relieve Adam, and more broadly men in general, of their sins.
You May Interested: Meet Lilith, Adam’s First Wife.