Encountering Eve's Afterlives: A New Reception Critical Approach to Genesis 2-4 (Oxford Theology and Religion Monographs)

"Encountering Eve's Afterlives: A New Reception Critical Approach to Genesis 2-4 aims to destabilize the persistently pessimistic framing of Eve as a highly negative symbol of femininity within Western culture by engaging with marginal, and even heretical, interpretations that focus on more positive aspects of her character. In doing so, this book questions the myth that orthodox, popular readings represent the 'true' meaning of the first woman's story, and explores the possibility that previously ignored or muted rewritings of Eve are in fact equally 'valid' interpretations of the biblical text. By staging encounters between the biblical Eve and re-writings of her story, particularly those that help to challenge the interpretative status quo, this book re-frames the first woman using three key themes from her story: sin, knowledge, and life. Thus, it considers how and why the image of Eve as a dangerous temptress has gained considerably more cultural currency than the equally viable pictures of her as a subversive wise woman or as a mourning mother. The book offers a re-evaluation of the meanings and the myths of Eve, deconstructing the dominance of her cultural incarnation as a predominantly flawed female, and reconstructing a more nuanced presentation of the first woman's role in the Bible and beyond." --book jacket back cover Cover Encountering Eve’s Afterlives: A New Reception Critical Approach to Genesis 2–4 Copyright Preface Acknowledgements Contents Figures Abbreviations Gallery One: Encountering Eve: A Guide I. NARRATIVE CRITICISM II. ANCIENT INTERTEXTS AND INTERPRETATIONS III. RECEPTION CRITICISM Gallery Two: Sin PART I. EVE AND SIN IN THE HEBREW BIBLE a. Genesis 2.16–17: Prohibition b. Genesis 3.1–5: Temptation c. Genesis 3.6: Transgression d. Genesis 3.7–13: Realization and Confrontation e. Genesis 3.14–16: Consequences f. Summary PART II. ANCIENT INTERTEXTS AND INTERPRETATIONS a. Sirach 25.24 b. Hesiod’s Pandora c. Summary PART III. JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RECEPTION OF EVE AS ANTI-INTELLECT a. Eve as Intellectual Inferior 1. Philo 2. Augustine 3. Aquinas b. Eve as Foolish Wife c. Summary PART IV. JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RECEPTION OF EVE AS SINFUL MOTHER a. Eve as Mother of Death b. Eve as Monstrous Mother 1. Eve as Mother of a Monster 2. Monstrous Maternity c. Summary PART V. CONCLUDING COMMENTS Gallery Three: Knowledge PART I. EVE AND KNOWLEDGE IN THE HEBREW BIBLE a. Genesis 2.9: The Tree of Knowledge b. Genesis 2.17: Prohibition c. Genesis 3.1–7: Transgression d. Genesis 3.22: God’s Motive e. Summary PART II. ANCIENT INTERTEXTS AND INTERPRETATIONS a. The Epic of Gilgamesh—Shamhat b. Biblical Wisdom Literature c. 1 Enoch d. The Greek Life of Adam and Eve e. Summary PART III. GNOSTIC RECEPTION OF EVE AS A FIGURE OF KNOWLEDGE a. Gnostic Appropriations of Genesis b. Gnostic Eve 1. Eve as Spiritual Helper 2. The Metamorphoses of Eve c. Summary PART IV. POSTMODERN FEMINIST RECEPTION OF EVE AS A FIGURE OF KNOWLEDGE a. Feminism and Judaeo-Christian Myth b. Eve in Feminist Re-visioning c. Eve and Knowledge in Angela Carter’s Writings 1. ‘Penetrating to the Heart of the Forest’ (1974) 2. ‘The Bloody Chamber’ (1979) d. Summary PART V. CONCLUDING COMMENTS Gallery Four: Life PART I. MOTHER EVE IN THE HEBREW BIBLE a. Genesis 3.16: Consequences b. Genesis 3.20: Mother of All Living c. Genesis 4.1: Eve Gives Birth to Cain d. Genesis 4.25: Eve Gives Birth to Seth e. Summary PART II. ANCIENT INTERTEXTS AND INTERPRETATIONS a. Genesis 3.16 in Trito-Isaiah b. Genesis 3.16 in 4 Ezra c. Genesis 3.16 in Revelation 12 d. Genesis 3.16 in 1 Timothy 2 e. Genesis 3.20 in the Similitudes of Enoch f. Genesis 3.20 in ‘Abodah Zarah g. Genesis 4.1–2 in the Lives of Adam and Eve h. Summary PART III. MOTHER EVE IN THE VISUAL ARTS a. Mater Lactans 1. Cotton Genesis and its Archetype 2. Ashburnham Pentateuch 3. Junius Manuscript 4. Hildesheim b. Mater Dolorosa c. Summary PART IV. MOTHER EVE IN THE WORK OF PRE-TWENTIETH-CENTURY WOMEN WRITERS a. Introduction b. Eve and Perpetua in Antiquity c. Eve and Hildegard in the Medieval Period d. Eve in Women’s Writing of the Early Modern Period e. Eve in Women’s Writing in Modernity f. Summary PART V. CONCLUDING COMMENTS Gallery Five: Everywoman Eve Index Bibliography Encountering Eve's Afterlives: A New Reception Critical Approach to Genesis 2-4 aims to destabilize the persistently pessimistic framing of Eve as a highly negative symbol of femininity within Western culture by engaging with marginal, and even heretical, interpretations that focus on more positive aspects of her character. In doing so, this book questions the myth that orthodox, popular readings represent the 'true' meaning of the first woman's story, and explores the possibility that previously ignored or muted rewritings of Eve are in fact equally 'valid' interpretations of the biblical text. 0By staging encounters between the biblical Eve and re-writings of her story, particularly those that help to challenge the interpretative status quo, this book re-frames the first woman using three key themes from her story: sin, knowledge, and life. Thus, it considers how and why the image of Eve as a dangerous temptress has gained considerably more cultural currency than the equally viable pictures of her as a subversive wise woman or as a mourning mother. 0The book offers a re-evaluation of the meanings and the myths of Eve, deconstructing the dominance of her cultural incarnation as a predominantly flawed female, and reconstructing a more nuanced presentation of the first woman's role in the Bible and beyond Encountering Eve's Alternative Afterlives: A New Reception Critical Approach to Genesis 2-4 offers an examination of interpretations and imaginings of Eve that challenge popular perceptions of her as the first femme fatale.