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And the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”
…
So the Lord God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. He took one of Adam’s ribs and closed up the place from which he had taken it. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib and brought her to Adam.
“At last!” Adam exclaimed. “She is part of my own flesh and bone! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of a man.”
Therefore Shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
-- Genesis 2: 18-24 (NLT, KJV)
I love it that Adam gets a little excited.
Of course, a lot of gender politics comes into play right away with the story of Adam and Eve. Robert Alter says that the term ‘adam’ means simply ‘human’ and does not even suggest maleness, so he always has it that we are speaking of the human and his woman, as in the closing verse of the chapter: “And the two of them were naked, the human and his woman, and they were not ashamed.” Which sounds over-strained to my ear, practically castrating Adam, but I may also be a bit of a chauvinist, rather fancying the dominant man on top concept, and I do not care much for translations that seek to scrub out all the traditional attributes of maleness from God, but I also see this as a weakness on my part, perhaps a distortion of my latin machismo, for in my most serious philosophical speculation, I am not actually inclined to picture God as having a dick.
Milton, of course, does a beautiful job with the Adam and Eve story, and I will close with an excerpt from “Paradise Lost” on Adam and Eve coming together, as experienced and spoken by Eve. And, yes, one can see Milton mixing in some classic Greek mythology into his storytelling, but that is part of his charm, as he was not only a devout Christian but also an erudite classicist.
_ _ _
‘That day I oft remember, when from sleep
I first awaked, and found myself reposed
Under a shade on flowers, much wondering where
And what I was, whence thither brought, and how.
Not distant far from thence a murmuring sound
Of waters issued from a cave, and spread
Into a liquid plain, then stood unmoved
Pure as the expanse of heaven. I thither went
With unexperienced thought, and laid me down
On the green bank, to look into the clear
Smooth lake, that to me seemed another sky.
As I bent down to look, just opposite
A shape within the watery gleam appeared,
Bending to look on me. I started back.
It started back. But pleased I soon returned.
Pleased it returned as soon with answering looks
of sympathy and love. There I had fixed
Mine eyes till now, and pined with vain desire,
Had not a voice thus warned me: “What thou seest,
What there thou seest, fair creature, is thyself.
With thee it came and goes. But follow me,
And I will bring thee where no shadow stays
Thy coming, and thy soft embraces; he
Whose image thou art. Him thou shalt enjoy
Inseparably thine, to him shalt bear
Multitudes like thyself, and thence be called
Mother of human race.” What could I do,
But follow straight, invisibly thus led?
Till I espied thee, fair indeed, and tall,
Under a plantane; yet methought less fair,
Less winning soft, less amiably mild,
Than that smooth watery image. Back I turned.
Thou following criedst aloud, “Return, fair Eve.
Whom flyest thou? Whom thou flyest, of him thou art,
His flesh, his bone. To give thee being I lent
Out of my side to thee, nearest my heart,
Substantial life, to have thee by my side
Henceforth an individual solace dear.
Part of my soul I seek thee, and thee claim
My other half.” With that thy gentle hand
Seized mine. I yielded; and from that time see
How beauty is excelled by manly grace,
And wisdom, which alone is truly fair.’
-- “Paradise Lost” (Book 4) by John Milton
…
So the Lord God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. He took one of Adam’s ribs and closed up the place from which he had taken it. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib and brought her to Adam.
“At last!” Adam exclaimed. “She is part of my own flesh and bone! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of a man.”
Therefore Shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
-- Genesis 2: 18-24 (NLT, KJV)
I love it that Adam gets a little excited.
Of course, a lot of gender politics comes into play right away with the story of Adam and Eve. Robert Alter says that the term ‘adam’ means simply ‘human’ and does not even suggest maleness, so he always has it that we are speaking of the human and his woman, as in the closing verse of the chapter: “And the two of them were naked, the human and his woman, and they were not ashamed.” Which sounds over-strained to my ear, practically castrating Adam, but I may also be a bit of a chauvinist, rather fancying the dominant man on top concept, and I do not care much for translations that seek to scrub out all the traditional attributes of maleness from God, but I also see this as a weakness on my part, perhaps a distortion of my latin machismo, for in my most serious philosophical speculation, I am not actually inclined to picture God as having a dick.
Milton, of course, does a beautiful job with the Adam and Eve story, and I will close with an excerpt from “Paradise Lost” on Adam and Eve coming together, as experienced and spoken by Eve. And, yes, one can see Milton mixing in some classic Greek mythology into his storytelling, but that is part of his charm, as he was not only a devout Christian but also an erudite classicist.
_ _ _
‘That day I oft remember, when from sleep
I first awaked, and found myself reposed
Under a shade on flowers, much wondering where
And what I was, whence thither brought, and how.
Not distant far from thence a murmuring sound
Of waters issued from a cave, and spread
Into a liquid plain, then stood unmoved
Pure as the expanse of heaven. I thither went
With unexperienced thought, and laid me down
On the green bank, to look into the clear
Smooth lake, that to me seemed another sky.
As I bent down to look, just opposite
A shape within the watery gleam appeared,
Bending to look on me. I started back.
It started back. But pleased I soon returned.
Pleased it returned as soon with answering looks
of sympathy and love. There I had fixed
Mine eyes till now, and pined with vain desire,
Had not a voice thus warned me: “What thou seest,
What there thou seest, fair creature, is thyself.
With thee it came and goes. But follow me,
And I will bring thee where no shadow stays
Thy coming, and thy soft embraces; he
Whose image thou art. Him thou shalt enjoy
Inseparably thine, to him shalt bear
Multitudes like thyself, and thence be called
Mother of human race.” What could I do,
But follow straight, invisibly thus led?
Till I espied thee, fair indeed, and tall,
Under a plantane; yet methought less fair,
Less winning soft, less amiably mild,
Than that smooth watery image. Back I turned.
Thou following criedst aloud, “Return, fair Eve.
Whom flyest thou? Whom thou flyest, of him thou art,
His flesh, his bone. To give thee being I lent
Out of my side to thee, nearest my heart,
Substantial life, to have thee by my side
Henceforth an individual solace dear.
Part of my soul I seek thee, and thee claim
My other half.” With that thy gentle hand
Seized mine. I yielded; and from that time see
How beauty is excelled by manly grace,
And wisdom, which alone is truly fair.’
-- “Paradise Lost” (Book 4) by John Milton
