Eve’s Punishment

To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” – Genesis 3:16

For most of Christian history, Eve has been painted as a villain. Thomas Aquinas said that women lacked the knowledge and strength of men and were created mostly to help men reproduce. St. Augustine of Hippo argued that woman’s weakness made her more likely to sin. He popularized the idea that sin was passed from parent to child, and since he pinned the original sin on Eve, “all women were charged with a heavy load of guilt for the Fall and original sin.”

A medieval Irish poet portrayed Eve as saying the following:

I am Eve, the wife of noble Adam; it was I who violated Jesus in the past; it was I who robbed my children of heaven; it is I by right who should have been crucified…. It was I who plucked the apple; … there would be no hell, there would be no grief, there would be no terror but for me.

These traditions and attitudes are still prevalent in many Christian communities today, and they are very problematic. Eve is no more at fault for “the Fall” than is Adam, and women should not carry the guilt for humanity’s brokenness.

However…

I would be lying if I said I never pinned some blame on Eve.

While the serpent had their legs revoked and Adam was sentenced to hard labor on the farm, Eve’s punishment was pain in childbirth and, presumably, all related reproductive discomforts.

The creation narrative of Genesis 2 and 3 serves a largely etiological function, meaning it explains why certain things are the way they are: Why people feel ashamed when they are naked, why growing food is so difficult, why giving birth is so painful.

So, each month, I find myself asking, “Why, when my body needs to dispose of an unfertilized egg, does it have to hurt so much? Why must I experience such severe back and hip and stomach pain? Why must I feel so groggy and irritated? Why does my body have to make such a mess for me to clean up?” I’ve never been pregnant nor given birth, but I am positive that both experiences come with loads more questions like these.

Now, given the history of how this story has been used to oppress women, blaming Eve for my menstrual cramps is problematic. I recognize this. Still, using her as a scapegoat for my pain and nausea does give me some relief.

Historical research and quotes from Gerda Lerner, “One Thousand Years of Feminist Bible Criticism,” in The Creation of Feminist Consciousness: From the Middle Ages to Eighteen-Seventy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 138–66.