The Fall of Eve
and the Wisdom of Mary
Written by Andrea Piaget
In the Book of Genesis, Eve, the first woman on earth, is created by God from the dust, a rib from the side of Adam, and God's breath as an equal to Adam. Adam, the first man, was created before Eve, and he named her woman. There is an analysis of the patriarchal Judeo-Christian narrative from the feminists who proclaim that the biblical narrative is radically patriarchal in its ab initio, and this is a falsehood because the text verifies right from the beginning that women, like men, are made in the image of God. Eve is equal to Adam in Every manner, although complimentary.
One could argue that they are each piece of the same whole and are necessarily complimentary because each individual is a part of the whole. In this case, the individual, Adam, is not Man but only part of Man. Eve is not Man (referring to mankind here) but only part of Man. So, in this piece, we will examine the relationships in chapters 1-3 of the Book of Genesis and extract their relevance and discernment to cultivate a further understanding of relationships and, through wisdom, develop prudence to beautify our perception through virtue. We will observe:
The relationship between God and creation
The relationship between God and humans
The relationship between humans and humans
The relationship between humans and creation
The relationship between humans and God
It is of utmost importance to recognize that the Book of Genesis is a narrative that revolves around profound relationships. The first of these relationships is between God and creation, initiated when God spoke, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. [1] This act of creation and the following established a deep bond between God and His creation. The narrative reveals a relationship between God and man, as God allows Adam to participate in His creation by naming the animals. This act of participation further embeds Adam into the narrative, solidifying his role in God's creation.
God abides by the names man gives the animals through the word, referring again to logos, so man actively participates in God's creation through speech. This act of naming, participating, and embedding itself further in God's creation solidifies the relationship between man and God and man and creation. Man engages in the project of God, as Adam now uses his words just as God used his at the beginning of creation, and this action emphasizes the interconnectedness of all elements in the narrative. Now, we get to observe the relationship between human and human, Adam and Eve, which is intricately woven into the fabric of creation.
Genesis 1:26-27
26 Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth.
27 God created mankind in his image;
in the image of God he created them;
male and female, he created them.
Genesis 2: 7 & 18
7 then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
18 The Lord God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited for him.
Genesis 2: 21-25
21 So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
22 The Lord God then built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman. When he brought her to the man,
23 the man said:
This one at last, is bones of my bones
flesh of my flesh;
This one shall be called woman,
for out of man this one has been taken.
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.
25 The man and the wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.
It is evident that man, composed of matter and anima, the spirit that animates, plays a crucial role as a mediator between God and creation throughout the Book of Genesis. In theological terms, a mediator, in this case man, bridges the gap between two parties, God and creation. Adam, having named Eve woman, and God abiding by it, made Adam a mediator between God and creation. Eve, created by God as a companion to Adam in the image and likeness of God, also assumes the role of a mediator. In the Garden of Eden, man becomes a divine mediator between the heavens, the angels, the earth, and the animals. This central position as mankind being a mediator in the likeness of God underscores the profound responsibility, complexity, and divinity of the role of both Adam and Eve and us today.
What is particularly intriguing about the human-to-human relationship between Adam and Eve is that through this relationship, Adam gains self-awareness by naming another human, Eve, as woman, and getting to know her. It is through Eve that he comes to understand and know his personhood. This narrative conveys that man is not an isolated, unique individual surrounded by other independent, unique individuals. This relationship brings to light that there is no concept of 'me' or understanding of 'I' for both Adam and Eve without being in a relationship with one another. They are both human beings, made in the image and likeness of God. Without fully immersed in a shared reality, a shared story based on truth, and engaging in civil, respectful, and conscious mediation, there can be no genuine concept of 'me' or 'I' for their development.
In my assessment, Eve's naivety about what is good and what is evil leads her to be unable to look at the snake for what it is, and this, too, occurred by her perhaps receiving no guidance, or no proper guidance, from Adam. After all, he does nothing but blame her, exposing his lack of understanding and sophistication. Man's fallen nature gives us further discernment, allowing us to consciously choose the path of faith, sound intelligence, and ethics over evil. Our responsibility is to discern good from evil and separate the wheat from the chaff because the experience of Man in the Garden of Eden teaches us that not everything is good.
It is through the transgression of the commandment given to man by God that there is a rupture of this sacred human-to-human relationship between Adam and Eve and between mankind and God when Eve enters into a relationship between human and creation outside the structures God had set for them, outside the living organizing principal of the material, outside the laws of the spirit of the garden. [2] Thus, because she is naive and unwise, she steps into the path of dissolution of her relationship with the divine by breaking the first commandment God gave them.
Genesis 2: 16-17
16 The Lord God gave the man this order: You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden
17 except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die.
So, Eve transgressed God, and she, too, transgressed her original nature, which was good, pure, untainted. We see here she transgressed her human-to-God relationship and her human-to-human relationship by having had, though her choice expulsed her lineage outside of the Garden of Eden and the grace of God. It was a double crossing on her end. Eve did not love God as God wanted her to love Him with all of her heart, all of her soul, and all of her strength because, in her ignorance and unsophistication, the snake seduced her to become like God, and Man will never be like God because man is man. Mortal, corrupt, and, as we can see throughout history, utterly insufficient without God's grace. Eve did not follow the commandment of God, and Adam didn't sacrifice for her. He did not show up for her in front of God. Thus, Adam was too unprepared and naive in his comprehension of love. And so, instead, he blamed her. This transgression marks the beginning of human separation from God and the introduction of sin and suffering into the world.
Genesis 3:1-5
1 Now the snake was the most cunning of all wild animals that the Lord God had made. He asked the woman, "Did God really say, 'You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden'? "
2 The woman answered the snake: "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
3 it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.' "
4 But the snake said to the woman: "You shall not die!
5 God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil."
Now, I have a question for the reader: Can you recognize how cunning the snake is? If so, how? Let me tell you the answer: the serpent manipulates Eve by gently vailing a lie with the truth.
Genesis 3:4
4 But the snake said to the woman: "You certainly will not die!"
And this statement is a lie, told with a sense of disbelief. We know it is a lie because God says:
Genesis 2: 16-17
16 The Lord God gave the man this order: You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden
17 except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die.
And then the snake cunningly veils the lie with the truth.
Genesis 3:5
5 "God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil."
And so, the snake plants the seed of doubt and taints man's pride, which is easily manipulatable and taintable. Pride is the Achilles heel of man, and the snake knows this. So, the fall continues:
Genesis 3: 6-15
6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
8 When they heard the sound of the Lord God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
9 The Lord God then called the man and asked him: Where are you?
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.
11 Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat?
12 The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me - she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it."
13 The Lord God then asked the woman: What is this you have done? The Woman answered, "The snake tricked me, so I ate it."
14 Then the Lord God said to the snake:
Because you have done this,
cursed are you
among all the animals, tame or wild;
On your belly you shall crawl,
and dust you shall eat,
all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
They will strike your head,
while you strike at their heel.
In the third chapter of Genesis, we witness the tragic rupture of Adam and Eve's sacred human-to-human relationship. Eve, a divine gift to Adam as a companion, was meant to be a conduit for self-discovery through their holy union. However, the serpent's cunning tainted man's pride, leading to the belief that they could ascend to godhood by partaking in the fruit from the tree of good and evil. Succumbing to temptation, both man and woman ate the fruit, breaking the first commandment from God. This act shattered their relationship and severed their connection with the divine, banishing them from the garden, a consequence that echoes through the ages.
The evil in this text is the consciousness of transgression and the consciousness of shame that began the moment they ate from the tree, becoming more exposed to the goodness of God, for the tree was not bad in itself. The story says that everything God created was good; what was harmful and wrong was the pride within man to become like gods. And so, the more exposed they were to the good, which is what the tree of good and evil exposed them to, a double knowledge occurring at the same time, good and evil, man became aware of its transgression and that he had fallen from grace into sin. Without repentance, man will feel more shame and continue to harbor self-loathing inflicted by the snake. It is repentance, the only way back to grace, to accept one's fallen nature; when sin occurs, man must repent and abstain from sin.
Another way of seeing this in a similar light, adding one more layer of understanding, is as follows: In the text, evil is the consciousness of transgression against God, against the father of all of creation, and this consciousness is seeded in shame, self-loathing, the poisonous bite from the snake. Man becomes vulnerable when he becomes self-conscious of his transgressions against God. Thus, he becomes aware of the knowledge of what is good and what is evil, and so now, if man chooses, out of his own free will, man can consciously bring suffering into being to God, another person, and God's creation, and this is the fall. Or, man can repent, do what is good, and abide by what is good.
Genesis 3:15
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
They will strike your head, while
you strike at their heel.
It was the renowned French Catholic priest and saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Monfort, who lived from 1673 to 1716, a time marked by religious fervor and spiritual renewal, who, in his seminal work The True Devotion to Mary, specifically in chapter 3, verses 52-54, eloquently states, 'Satan is so prideful that he suffers infinitely more by seeing himself defeated by a simple and humble servant of God. The humility of Mary humiliates him more than the mighty power of God.' [3]
'God has given Mary a power so grand against the demons that due to their inflictions on people, they were obliged to confess by the possessed that this is true.' Thus, this power is not physical but spiritual, a power of intercession and protection. 'And so, demons have more fear to only one sigh of Mary in favor of a person than the prayers of all saints, and only one threat from her torments them more than all other pleas.' [4]
It continues, 'What Lucifer lost out of pride Mary gained with humility. What Eve condemned and spoiled with disobedience, Mary saved with obedience. When Eve obeyed the serpent, she became the cause of perdition to herself and her offspring, giving them to Satan. In contrast, by remaining faithful to God, Mary became the cause of salvation for herself and all her children and servants by consecrating them to the Lord God.' [5]
Humility is not only a verb but a virtue; when properly cultivated by emulating Our Lady, the epitome of humility, it is she who can, through faith, adorn us with the jewels of grace through virtue if our humility is pure and consistent. Our lady, the Virgin Mary, guides us to build a relationship with God again. One Eve lost due to her pride and ignorance in wanting to become like God; thus, the Virgin Mary advocates for Eve and for all women of the Catholic faith.
John 19:25-30
25 Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdala.
26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son."
27 Then he said to the disciple, "Behold your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
28 After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I thirst."
29 There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth.
30 When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, "It is finished." And bowing his head, he handed over his spirit.
When Jesus, in his last words, says to his mother, "Woman, behold your son." When he calls his mother woman this is not a title of derision; it is not a demotion; woman refers back to Eve. Eve is the mother of all the living, the first woman. Now Jesus is saying woman to Mary, his mother, referring to Eve but also making a relation to Mary as the new Eve, the mother of all the redeemed. From the cross, Jesus also says to his beloved disciple John, "There is your mother," referring to anyone who is my beloved disciple, "My mother is your mother," and he is saying to his mother, woman, new Eve, my beloved disciples are your children. So why do we call Mary our mother? Because Jesus gave her to us, disciples, as our mother from the cross. He requests us to have a relationship with Mary, our mother. [6]
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Amen.