Name a More Iconic Trio Than Adam, Eve, and the Snake

Who hasn’t been facinated by the sultry story of Adam and Eve? A tale of serpents, romance, and forbidden fruit? Even as a kid I knew that the fruit must have been so sweet and juicy it would make your eyes roll back on the first bite. The Apple would have had to be absolutely decadent, if it was delicious enough to make Adam and Eve realize they were naked.

Years later, as a teenager filled with new hormones and taking an English class that taught me half the literary symbols we were learning about alluded to sexual desire, I was clued in on the secret this Bible story was implying: that Eve taught Adam to do the ‘naughty.’ That the shame of their naked bodies came from knowing the pleasure their bodies were capable of.

That they beheld the tree of life and were taught the knowledge of how life came to be: through S-E-X.

Sex.

Suddenly, it becomes a story about a forbidden sexual awakening. A scandalous story about the devil himself teaching Eve the secrets of her body…and Eve took her new wisdom straight to Adam!

There’s one tiny problem with that insinuation: the Bible never explicitly says the serpent was the devil. According to the literature, it was just a normal, everyday snake; eventually cursed to slither on his belly, due to it’s lack of discretion in this tale. It is never once said that the snake was Satan.

It is a minor detail, but a significant one. Learning it left the story of Adam and Eve fresh in my mind on the day I started reflecting on the symbolism of the snake.

In many belief systems the snake is not shunned as evil, but revered as a sacred symbol of sexual power. What grown adult could deny the resemblance to that long smooth sexual body part? Who could possibly plead ‘not guilty’ at having suggestively and jokingly referenced the ‘one eyed snake’? -wink wink nudge nudge-

I’m talking about the snake being used through history as a ‘phallic symbol,’ or, the symbol of a penis. 

Now, let’s hold that idea of the one eyed snake in our mind simultaneously with the knowledge that Eve was tempted by a snake…a snake that was not satan. Could it have possibly been…

…that Eve wasn’t tempted by a literal snake or even just any old talking snake…

Eve was tempted by Adam’s snake…Adam’s penis.

It would be reasonable to imagine that someone living in such a hard climate, while also just barely coming into communication with their small but growing tribe, would likely have a word for ‘snake’ (the thing that can kill you) before they had a word for ‘penis’. It would make sense that somewhere along the way the innuendo was lost in translation, and later exaggerated for amusement (as all good story tellers tend to do.)

Myths and folklore show us what ancient cultures believed in, what their day to day life was like and what concepts influenced the development of their customs and laws. Because the Christian religion is so prominent today and most of us have a personal stake in how these stories are interpreted, most people finding themselves unable to look at these stories with the type of literary objectivity they would use to study myths like Odyssey.

When we find a way to distance ourselves from the emotional impact of the Bible stories that influence our lives (be it welcome or unwelcome influence) something interesting starts to happens: the experience and modern knowledge we have begin to give us a deeper insight to accurately deciphering these stories and understand their orgin and intent.

When we hold these different details together without hostility or bias, we find that like a puzzle they fit together paint us a larger picture of what it means. For example: we know that many households consider sex a dirty sinful word, one that is shameful to even talk about. We know that stories tend to use symbolism to portray deeper and more emotional topics. We know that children love talking animals to this very day. This particular story carries themes about obeying your father and remaining innocent. Looking at those key components and all we have talked about so far, it is easy to assume that this was most likely used as a tale for children, to teach them specific values. As a generation of children grew up taking the talking snake at face value, the underlying motifs get pushed into our unconscious mind. We retain the message of obeying your father and avoiding temptation, while the passionate core of this tragic story hides just outside of our reach.

Adam and Eve were two new humans who spent their days playing naked in paradise. It is only natural that they be curious about each other’s body. For them to wonder about the miles of skin and hidden sinews of their companions physique. However, this story advises not to be tempted by sexual awakening. They are given explicit instructions to remain untouched and when Eve is tempted by the snake, she is villianized for giving in. Like all cautionary tales, we watch our heroine fall, and the hero fall with her.

Carrying the similar themes of many bedtime stories, it is easy to picture the children nodding their heads and absorbing the message, “Now Girls, don’t be tempted by the ‘snake.’ If you give in to the snake you will bring shame on your father, be banished from our home, and forced to raise your children in exile just like Eve. And boys, remember: No good can come from listening to a temptress like Eve.”

When we take that step back, we become open to gain perspective of the literary and psychological symbolism used to create these stories. We can start to imagine Eve as a real and relatable person. As a person who is beginning to experiment with her sexuality, vs a mythical being.

The picture painted suddenly becomes a familiar narrative and we begin to learn from this story in a different way. The story goes from an ancient anecdote to a modern tradgety. A common occurrence, that is not as unusual as we first thought.

Eve becomes the first girl in grade school to experiment with boys.

God’s fury becomes something human, akin to a stereotypical father, who has just learned about his daughter’s promiscuity and is prepared to disown her.

“Did you hear about that girl whose dad caught her having sex and kicked her out?”

The gossip is passed around and around. A game of telephone on continuum, each spread rumor becoming more and more exaggerated each time it is told. By the time the story reaches you? One of the characters is the devil, disguised as a talking snake.

(If you enjoyed this read, please like and subscribe! Thank you 😊)