Reading Gender Paper

Taylor O’Neal

Women’s Studies: Reading Gender Paper

The Eternal Feminine by Rosario Castellanos

In the play The Eternal Feminine there is a particular scene where the main character Lupita goes into a circus tent to see “Eve”. After meeting this performer portraying Eve, Lupita gets to hear a different version of the story of Adam and Eve.
In this version of Adam and Eve, Adam is a power tripping, uptight, organizer working for God, instead of a strong-willed, wise man as told in the real version of the Bible. Adam in this new revised version, annoys Eve by ordering her around and forcing a the name “Eve” upon her. Eve is completely different in this scene too compared to the original version of the Bible. This new and improved Eve is witty, and independent. She gets annoyed by Adam’s repetitive story telling and is bored by the typical life style of the Garden of Eden. Eve doesn’t take any demeaning orders from Adam, and she is rebelliously curious about her other life style options.
I chose this particular scene to display gender issues because the story of Adam and Eve is the first story of men and women. According to the Bible, Eve was made out of Adams ribs, which began the whole issue of women being controlled by men. It is generally believed that women must be below men, or subjective to men, because of the story of Adam and Eve. People all over the world have misinterpreted the Adam and Eve story, to falsely rank women below men.
Although this new version portrayed in The Eternal Feminine isn’t the one being printed in the Bible all over the world, it can be relatively eye opening, because it openly mocks the actual story of Adam and Eve. It reveals how ridiculous people are for basing the status of a woman to a man according the Adam and Eve tale. This new version looks at the story from a different perspective, one where Eve isn’t just a gullible woman that is easily talked into eating the forbidden fruit. Instead, Castellanos’s version represents Eve as a sophisticated woman who is open minded about other options. The newer version of Eve owns a very confident, independent personality which was frowned upon in Castellanos’s society.
I think Rosario Castellanos wanted to reveal another way to look at the story of Adam and Eve. Her play mockingly makes fun of the way women were undermined by men and all the frivolous tasks women would do for them. She even sarcastically makes fun of the traditions these women follow. The evil serpent in Castellanos’s scene doesn’t have to manipulate Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, yet discusses with Eve that she has other options in life. Eve, having a severe case of boredom in the Garden of Eden, doesn’t even think twice, but bite the apple, and sassily talks Adam into doing the same.
Understanding gender in society shouldn’t be based upon the story of Adam and Eve. Even if Eve was created from Adam, women shouldn’t be submissive to me. Through her play, she gives off the impression that women’s behavior is often silly, and that being submissive to men is idiotic. Rosario Castellanos’s stance on women equality is definitely encouraging. She thoughs outside of society’s “norm”, and wrote her play with motivation for women’s growth behind it.