Adam and Who?

Photo taken from islandcrisis.net
By: Chris Valletta

Ewen gave his take on the history of the male and female in the chapter "Male and Female Created He Them" in a very descriptive and intriguing way. Starting back thousands of years ago with the creation of man, Ewen notes that women have always had a subordinate role in juxtaposition to men. According to Gnostic versions of the Bible, Mary Magdalene and Christ were the most important figures to God. Jesus trusted her more than any of his male disciples. The disciples saw this as offensive, and said to Jesus "Why do you love her more than all of us" (Ewen 361)? According to the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, Mary is the one who sees Jesus rising from his tomb after he is crucified and tells what she sees to the other disciples. In response to her, Peter asked, "Must we change our customs and listen to this woman" (Ewen 361)?

Paul's response and the accounts of the Gnostic version and Mary Magdalene's Gospel is telling of a woman's actual significant relationship with Jesus and God. It also sheds light on the men's views of Jesus putting a woman over them, in particular with Paul and his jealousy. The Gnostic versions were then granted heretical by the Orthodox Christians and the New Testament took its place, one that told quite a different story in relation to male-female relationships and their impact on history. Peter now became the most trusted apostle of Jesus and women were marked as tainted. In addition, priests chose to live a celibate life, and Mary Magdalene was referred to as a whore, rather than a trusted follower of Christ.

In regards to the story of Creation, Genesis describes Adam being created first, then the women Eve is created after from the rib of Adam to ease his loneliness. However, according to Eastern Orthodox churches, women was not created from a piece of man but a separate entity of man. The story follows that Eve eats from the forbidden tree of knowledge, and also tempts Adam to eat from there as well. They were both banished from paradise, but God also told Eve "I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy travail; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and they desire shall be to thy husband, he shall rule over thee" (Ewen 364). As a result of this, the distinction of characteristics considered to be male and female were continually upheld and strengthened by the laws of nature.

Another point in history brought up by Ewen that I found interesting was his take on natural history, physiological sciences, and social sciences, where women were continually put down by men in every way possible. For example, women were not conceived to be able to go outside the home and be safe while doing so. Also, in phrenology the most developed organs of a women were at the brain stem that included: domestic qualities, "love of home", "love of children", "reproductive love", and "love of sex". This all pointed to the notion of females being confined to the home, where they would be most effective. This acknowledges the fact that women are something that men get pleasure from, but it is more in the form of and object that they use, rather someone they love and treat equally.

Ewin did a fascinating job on discussing the intricate relations of men and women starting with their very inception. Great points in history are noted that raise many question as to why certain beliefs and documents in our history were suddenly replaced by others, which happen to raise men's status and lower women's status at the same time. The idea of pleasure from women also intrigues me so since there is rarely any acknowledgement to this fact. Is it because men are afraid to admit that women provide certain pleasures for them and are in fact capable of being on the same level? Or is it that men cannot handle their overwhelming desire to the opposite sex, so behaving in this way and believing certain things may be the only way to tame it?