Eve's Apology in Defense of Women

When Eve took that bite of the Forbidden Fruit, she had no idea what she had gotten women-kind into. Whether or not you believe in the story of creation, the perception of women as corrupting and sinful had shaped women's social roles in Western Society for thousands of years. Augustine was one of the first to write about the wickedness of women, and the acceptance of this doctrine is evident in the Letters of Abelard and Heloise through their disdain toward marriage. Along with mass death of the Black Plague, came an opportunity for women to change the ways in which society viewed them. The great number of deaths in Europe often resulted in the situation where no male heirs remained which led to the legal ability of women to inherit

Mary Orr’s “The Wisdom of Eve” is a short, but very unpredictable story about a new life for Eve Harrington and about the individual she is perceived to be by her appearance however, the true identity of Eve that is hidden within is projected throughout the story. The narrator of this story opens up with “I shall call her Eve Harrington because this is not her name, though the Eve part of the alias is not unapt, considering the original’s snaky activities in a once-peaceful garden” (Orr 284). Eve Harrington made her way to stardom but in a very unusual way. Eve Harrington’s “idol” Margola Cranston and Cranston’s closes friend who narrates the story are of the few people who fell for Eve’s manipulative ways. Eve is describe an awkward and unappealing

Towards the end of ‘On the Equality of the Sexes’, Murray specifically invokes the story of Adam and Eve, a story used for centuries to depict women as the sinners, to turn the argument against itself and argue that Adam, or the men, are the real sinners in the Bible, as Adam knowingly breaks the rules while Eve was innocently deceived by the serpent. “Adam could not plead the same deception,” says Murray, “nor ought we to admire his superiour strength, or wonder at his sagacity”, implying that people overestimate the skills of men while dismissing the intellect of women as commonplace. The bigger takeaway from Murray’s invocation of Adam and Eve is that it shows the audience that she is trying to make her argument more relatable by putting gender equality in the framework of the Bible, a piece of work that was not only a religious text, but a way of life for most people in Murray’s time. By analyzing the Bible through a feminist lens and swapping the roles of Adam and Eve, Murray saved women’s reputation as the repenting sinners, but in mentioning the Bible to justify her point, Murray ultimately retreats back to the practice of relying on others’ words to make her ideas worthy of public consumption.

With this in mind, it is clear that the author was implying how Eve or females in general, are unintelligent where they became gullible to the point that they are persuaded to do things that have major consequences as the result. Moreover, with her excessive curiosity of obtaining the knowledge when consuming the apple from the forbidden tree made her unaware to the punishment that will surely come when she devours it. With this, the author wants to point out to the people how they are incapable of logical thought for their actions are solely based on their emotions. With these, people are able to conclude that women don’t think before they act, while men can manipulate others that verify their intellect. As a matter of fact, this ignorant similar persona can be seen in the Onondaga story also. Specifically at the part where the Ancient Chief’s wife leaned over to look down the whole that seems like a bottomless pit or an abyss where she holds on to the tip of a branch to not fall over the pit. Likewise to the first point to how females are described to be ignorant, the Ancient Chief’s wife also acquires that characteristic where she shows the lack of knowledge that the tip of the branch is not enough to support her from falling. Besides the tip of the branch is the weakest part of a tree and is said to be very brittle and weak.

    The seventeenth century poet, John Milton, takes the attitude common to the time period while portraying Eve in Paradise Lost.  This epic, telling of Adam and Eve's fall from Paradise and the story of creation, constantly describes Eve as a weak individual, while Adam is often compared with God.  The idea of women's inferiority has been fixed through time, making Milton's characterization of Eve not surprising, but rather expected and accepted.  However, Milton shows a suggestion of women's inner strength while describing the control Eve has over Adam.  Nevertheless, except for this instance, Eve is depicted as subordinate to Adam.  This is evident through Adam and Raphael's treatment

actions of Eve God placed a special curse on the female race, “Unto the woman he said, I

Religion had an enormous impact on almost all aspects of life in the medieval world. In the Christian belief, the first two people that were created by God were Adam and Eve. They were provided with a paradise to live in,the garden of Eden, and were only given one rule that they had to follow to not eat from the tree of good and evil. If they did eat fruit from the tree, then they would have to leave the paradise. Eve was tempted by Satan, and ate the fruit. She then gave some of that fruit to Adam, and they were banned from the garden. For this reason, women were seen as dangerous temptresses. This story showed that women were morally weaker, and were likely to lead their spouses into sin. They became known as the “weaker” sex, for it was a woman who first consumed the fruit in the Garden of Eden.

Some believed that God deliberately made women inferior to men, which was evident in the Bible. The General Association of Massachusetts issued a Pastoral Letter which stated, “the appropriate duties and influence of woman are clearly stated in the New Testament. Those duties are unobtrusive and private, but the source of mighty power. When the mild, dependent, softening influence of woman upon the sternness of man’s opinions if fully exercised, society feels the effects of it in a thousand forms.” Women are supposed to handle domestic affairs. God made women soft and mild to balance out the strong nature of men. This balanced relationship keeps society in check. When a woman becomes independent, “she yields the power which God has given her for protection, and her character becomes unnatural. If the vine, whose strength and beauty is to lean upon the trellis-work, and conceal its clusters, thinks to assume the independence and the overshadowing nature of the elm, it will not only cease to bear fruit, but will fall in shame and dishonor into the dust.” A woman is like a vine; a vine without support will fall and will become unfruitful. A woman who is independent will be shamed by society and will become unsuccessful. God made women to depend on man. If a woman does not comply, she will fail. Some people believed that God intentionally made women weaker

“New England culture as a whole regarded women as more likely to be damned then men” (1). Reis starts her book “Damned Women” with this confidant statement that creates the central idea for the book. Displays that women were view as less then men, some even targeted because of their high place in society because of they received inheritors of money and property. Men were at the top of the hierarchy in all aspects with business, farming and the church officials. Why would anyone think that men were the sinful bad people? Especially in society women

In Anne’s Elegy, “In Honour of that High and Mighty Princess, Queen ELIZABETH”, the narrator takes the role of a woman “who identifies with a feminist view of the wrongs done to women.” (Rosenmeier, 44) Through a posthumous celebration of the Queen and her accomplishments, the speaker argues of women’s worth beyond simple housework and child-rearing. The speaker argues that Elizabeth’s triumphs in war and diplomacy are “argument enough to make” naysayers “mute” (Poem, 18). To further her statement, the speaker reminds us that to “say our sex is void of reason” was once punishable by death (Poem, 81). “It is not too much to suggest that in the prospect of Eliza 's return lies the implicit promise that this poor, loyal, simple speaker will be restored to wholeness and power.” (Rosenmeier, 45) It is entirely possible for a Christian Queen to “play the Rex” (Poem, 12). If a woman can rule over men justly and have the kingdom prosper, anything is possible. (Gordon, 194) This includes a Godly Puritan woman writing poetry and being successful among male poets

They talk about how women get whatever they want once they’ve got their mind made up and how men are smarter than women. Suddenly Mollie tells the men it’s time to wake up. She explains that women are pretty much the same as they are. Men and women are both people. Another thing Mollie said that is the most important quote of the story is, “As for Mother Eve-I wasn’t there and can’t deny the story, but I will say this. If she brought evil into the world, we men have had the lion’s share of keeping it going ever since-how about that?” (Gilman 55). Gilman shows men blame women for the way the world is, but it is both men and women who should equally be blamed for what goes on in the world.

The fall of Eve in the Garden of Eden condemned women and their bodies. Women’s bodies were created for sin and were easily seduced by temptation. Women’s bodies were weak and inferior to men’s bodies, for this reason they were viewed to have wanton and ravenous sexual appetites. Roper makes this point by discussing Kramer’s condemnation of women, “All witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable” (Roper 136). The feebleness of their bodies and will caused them to make unwise decisions. One possible explanation for the divided depiction of women could be the Madonna-Whore dichotomy. Women were seen as either virginal Madonnas or evil whores. The

According to Hutchins, Bradstreet’s view of Eve shifts in her poem “In Honour of that High and Mighty Princess, Queen Elizabeth, of Most Happy Memory” when she expresses her approval of Queen Elizabeth (48). He states that Queen Elizabeth displays great scientia when she governs, a quality that is said for women to lack (48), and Queen Elizabeth achieved what Eve failed to regarding wisdom. By showcasing how true can wisdom can be achieved, Hutchins argues, Bradstreet’s view of Eve turns to a view of a woman who simply took the wrong approach to gaining wisdom who should be remembered for the error in the Fall of Man (48).

We can see the poem deals with the entire story of man's fall from grace, including background for Satan's motives. In Paradise Lost, Eve was tricked by Satan, who assumed the form of a serpent, into eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Satan had whispered into her ear when she was asleep, and when he spoke to her later, he used his cunning to mislead her:

The Bible is controversial on the matter of gender equality. There are numerous contradictions about the status of women in Christian society. Historically, the most prominent interpretation has been rather negative toward women. The Christian Church, with principally male authority, emphasizes the idea that women are inferior to man. They focus on Eve’s sin leading to a punishment that “her husband will have authority over her.” (Drury, 34)