What if women are naturally as intelligent as men, but refusing them an education is the reason men know more? Seems like a no-brainer…and yet, in the late 1700’s, a woman had to point this out to “enlightened” men.

That woman was Judith Sargent Murray, and to explain why women were just as intelligent as men, she had to address the Eve story.

Her essay, “On the Equality of the Sexes,” is a tour de force argument for women’s education. Truth be told, it probably illustrates the real reason men didn’t want women to have an education: they’d end up with a nation of women like Judith Sargent Murray, running intellectual circles around them.

Along the way, Sonja hopes there’s pudding in Heaven, and Vanessa delves into some very scientific rib-distance-from-head intelligence theory.

REFERENCES

While we are not enough versed on Hebrew to completely evaluate Sargent Murray’s claim about serpent/seraph, even wikipedia suggests that she might be on to something.

Here is a link to the book Sonja mentions: A Terrible Intimacy: Interracial Life in the Slaveholding South by Melvin Patrick Ely.

When Sonja mentions the use of pseudonyms in newspaper writing, that refers to our episode 70. Take the Rake to Court about the 1783 Sewing Girl Rape Case.

We also reference these two episodes in which we interview Elizabeth Lesser and Sharon McMahon.

Eve as seductress is a cliche. That would make more sense if it were actually in the story about her. People realizing they are naked does not = having sex like bunnies. Sorry guys (and we do mean guys), but there is no sex in the Genesis story.

In this episode, we’ll tell you about John Milton, mid-to-late 17th century biblical scholar, who wrote a landmark narrative poem, PARADISE LOST (1667). It’s mostly about Satan falling from grace, but in Satan’s many adventures, he squeezes in a stop by the Garden of Eden to stir up trouble.

Milton takes some ideas from other (male) biblical scholars and spins some sexy ideas of his own in this massively (x1000) influential work of English literature. And one of those ideas is that after eating the fruit, Eve and Adam lay right down and have the first sex ever. Fan fiction, anyone?

What you might find, after hearing this episode, is that some of the ideas you have associated with Eve come from THIS poem, NOT the Bible. That’s how powerful stories work: they infiltrate, and at some point, we’re not even sure how they infiltrated our sense of reality–but they have.

Along the way, Sonja susses out some birthing metaphors, and Vanessa gives Paradise Lost an environmentalist read.

REFERENCES:

Feel brave? Check out Paradise Lost for yourself. Eve’s story is in Book 9.

If you want to look at a footnoted text, this link will take you right to Book 9 at the John Milton Reading Room at Dartmouth site.

Here is a link to John Milton’s Sonnet 19 that starts, “When I consider how my light is spent.”

No fruit. No talking snake. No woman breaking rules.

So why is THE TEMPEST in the All About Eve season?

For starters, in this 1612 play, we do have an old, powerful, white guy in charge of an idyllic island. His name is Prospero and he happens to be a sorcerer who can control the weather, puts others into magical slumbers, make people bring him firewood, but most of all, he completely controls the only female character on stage.

If a man with magical powers controls you completely, how can you ask questions and explore? How can you be Eve? Perhaps that’s the goal…

Beyond that, THE TEMPEST demonstrates an early exploration of how to approach the “New World.” It’s a great example of Shakespeare basing a story on something akin to a newspaper headline in the early 17th century.

Along the way, Sonja says cannibalism as many times as she can, and Vanessa switches a C for T.

REFERENCES:

Roanoke Colony Story explained here.

Here’s some basic information about the Virginia Colony

Jamestown Settlement 1607 information here

Smithsonian account of cannibalism in Jamestown.

Here is information about the ship wreck of the Sea Venture

We reference our episode #57 on MUCH ADO, which you can find here.

Here is Michel de Montaigne essay, "Of Cannibals"