I find the tale of Eden fascinating, as it is a story that tries to explain many things humans have pondered over for eons: gender, work ethic, the dominance of man over woman, and the very definition of paradise. It can be interpreted in many different ways, depending on the person’s outlook on life.
For instance, Arcadians believe that a true paradise is in the world of the past. They believe that time is cyclical, and that we always return to primitive nature – that primitive nature is where our paradise lies. They feel that in this Western civilization of cities and machinery, of bombs and science, we have fallen from the grace of Eden.
Others, however, want to take the risk of leaving Eden in search of a new paradise – possibly a better paradise. Eve, in the story of Eden, was one of those people. Rather than obey God, she listened to the serpent, and she tried something new, something risky.
God can be viewed in several different ways. The Arcadians might see God as a protective father, as the true wisdom, the one who knows who is right, who tries to protect his children by keeping them in the Arcadian paradise. Others, however, might see God as the sort of father who is overprotective, who prevents his children from growing by lying to them and mislead them. They see the serpent as a sort of mentor to Eve the risk-taker – she was right to disobey, to revolt, to try new things.
Which is the true paradise? The Arcadian Eden, where nothing changes, where everything is simple – or the more modern, Eve type of Eden, where people take risks, where people fall from grace in the attempt for improvement, for enlightenment, for knowledge. In that sort of world, God is no longer the provider and protector, but rather something to rebel against – or perhaps a figure that wound the clock of the universe and then left as it began to tick.
That sort of world might be more interesting, and it does have the possibility for positive change, but the risks are great. Risks of war, of atomic bombs for instance – things that could tear our world apart, and then perhaps we’d be forced to return to Arcadia.
Sources: As Eve Said to the Serpent, by Solnit
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