Reading Gendered Texts
The idea of gender in this following passage is portrayed in a very extreme manner. According to this the first ever mistake on earth was made by a female, in this particular case Eve. Eve being the first ever female on earth, left the consequences of her mistake for all future generations to suffer. As far as the process of child birth is concerned, the author very directly and discriminately smashes all females and states a direct way to hell. The very basic and pure bond of motherhood according to the passage, is supposed to be like a ticket to heaven which we have to earn in order to be with the opposite gender, men. And these males don’t need to prove anything or earn it, as they’re supposedly more noble and purer than us.
However, we should not surrender to this notion and challenge it. On the basis of how Adam gave in to the same temptation as Eve did, after all it was Adams first bite that led the future generations of mankind to suffer the wrath of God in terms of their struggle on earth. Why is it that Adam’s first bite is always ignored and the blame is always put upon Eve’s shoulders? Should she really be pointed fingers at and treated as the weaker sex considering it was Adam who took the first bite?
This passage is a perfect example of essentialism. A concept that follows a quote by Plato, “essence comes before existence”, which basically means in this very discrimination of women is predetermined and always been like this since day one. There are certain roles men and women are expected to hold on to, and there are accordingly ascribed statuses they will have to live with for the rest of their lives. We will always be someone’s daughter, which is an ascribed status, and according to it, we have a certain role to carry out. And if you don’t live up to the expectations of the following role, you get labeled as deviant.
The Essay on ADAM, EVE, AND THE SERPENT BY ELAINE PAGELS
Politics works within a certain ideological framework. A political structure is based upon a particular ideology. Such a case can be considered more or less parallel with that of religion, wherein individuals are encouraged, if not coerced, to subscribe to a certain religious belief. Christianity is a religious doctrine that has long been subject to both physical and ideological dispute. In Adam, ...
A completely opposite school of thought is that of constructivism. The belief that status is not ascribed but achieved. Meaning, you earn it. You don’t have to waste your life being tied down by the expressive roles but you can maintain your life however you want to. And thi9s works both ways. Men aren’t tied down by their masculine instrumental roles. There are no regulations and no roles in constructivism. It talks about giving choice and then acts accordingly. There are no pre established policies regarding sex and gender.
Now that we’ve been over what these both are. I believe the text has quite an obvious essentialist perspective, and the writer himself being a male, we can clearly see how according to him men are the gifted ones, while women only are only and only supposed to be submissive. According to him women are not allowed to occupy a position even close to one that may challenge the holy, oh-so-pure man’s authority.
. The claim that women are the root cause of all evil is a ridiculous one, instead a fair share of blame needs to be given to both genders, and not letting either suffer for the sins of the very first of their kinds however is a comparatively more sensible idea. Maybe, yes, creating a sensation of temptation is indeed wrong, but then again each and everyone has the element of self control.
