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Reading Notes: Adam and Eve, Part A


In the story of the fall of Adam and Eve, a serpent asks Eve why she has not eaten from the garden of Eden, to which she replies that God has ordered her not to or she will die. The serpent tells her that God does not want her to eat the fruit because it will give her knowledge and wisdom. Eve knows the fruit looks good, and eats it with her husband, Adam. After they eat it, their eyes are opened to their surrounding and they become self aware. God returns to the garden to find Adam and Eve hiding in embarrassment of their nudity and he realized they have eaten the fruit. God curses the serpent by making it a lowly animal and creating a divide between it and humans, woman by giving her a painful pregnancy and having her husband rule over her, and man by making it difficult for him to live from the land until his death.

The serpent and the forbidden fruit have become popular symbols. The serpent has come to represent deception, evil, etc. The fruit has come to represent sin, desire, etc. In my retelling of this story, I would like to replace these objects with others symbols that have similar connotations.

Eve is characterized as naive for listening to the serpent, rebellious for eating the fruit when God has told her not to, and submissive once God has decided his punishment for her. Adam is characterized as weak for going along with what his wife has told him to do, but later God says he will rule over his wife. The serpent is sneaky, deceptive, evil, and sinful for persuading Eve to eat the fruit and lying to her about God's intention.

The story takes place in a garden and I imagine there is fruit everywhere. It is stated that there are other trees with fruit that Adam and Eve can eat; they are only banned from eating the fruit of the middle tree. Since the fruit of the center tree is special, I picture it is radiant, perfect fruit. This would be more tempting to Eve and would make it easier for the serpent to persuade her to eat it.

Story Source: King James Bible (1611): Genesis 3
The Fall of Man by Titian. Source: Wikipedia
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