As we consider women’s history this month, there’s a certain logic in revisiting Western culture’s most famous (or infamous) female literary archetype, the Bible’s first woman who, according to mythological tradition, launched human history. We know Eve primarily in her Christian garb—the woman who brought about “The Fall” and “original sin” and who has necessitated a particular male savior to rescue humankind.

Curiously, the words “fall” and “sin” never appear in this text. Those absences, along with a number of other intriguing details, suggest that neither the story nor the woman is as simple as Christianity claims. Might we return to Eden and take another look around? Who knows?—We may discover a different story that helps us think more expansively about the human condition and about the ways the Bible can be read.

Topics: Women