"Eve's Apology in Defense of Women"
Word Count: 259
"Eve's Apology in Defense of Women" by Aemilia Lanyer
"And then to lay the fault on Patience' back, / That we (poor women) must endure it all;"
"If Eve did err, it was for knowledge' sake, / The fruit being fair persuaded him to fall:" (Lanyer)
These quotations from the second stanza of the poem depict Lanyer's feelings about the story of Adam and Eve. Many blame Eve for the fall of man, but Lanyer argues that she is not the one to condemn. The second quotation explains why Eve took to fruit: she wanted to have the knowledge which the serpent told her was vital, while Adam ate because the fruit was "fair." The first quotation exemplifies the hardships women still must endure because so many misinterpret the tale.
Lanyer's reasoning in this poem aligns with the current feminist movement, which was probably very controversial at the time of her writing this. This begs the question: why did she write this? Was it a form of early feminism? One could deem her writing at all to be a move toward women's empowerment, but is this what she meant to do? In A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf speaks about many early female authors and how angry their work is. Woolf argues the anger stems from their inequality to men in the field of writing because they fear writing will be taken away from them.
This argument almost makes sense in the context of this poem. Lanyer is obviously angry. We can see this from the first quotation when she states "(poor women)." The diction of this quote is annoyed and satirical - as if she is making fun of the way men talk down to women. This poem is more an expression of her annoyance, rather than an expression of her religious ideology.
Lanyer, Aemilia. “Eve's Apology in Defense of Women.” Poem-Eve's Apology, whs-hs.weatherfordisd.com/ourpages/auto/2013/11/20/57676221/Poem-Eve_s%20Apology.pdf.
Throughout this poem Lanyer defends Eve and expressed her personal opinions on this topic. Lanyer feels strongly about Adam and Eve being treated equally as they should be. In general Eve takes most of the blame for eating the apple. This poem talks about how women were treated unfairly and how the event of Adam and Eve was possibly the beginning of feminism.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you reference a previous work we've discussed in class and tied it into this story. I agree that the early female authors took a harsher tone towards men because of the oppression they faced and it can be seen in Lanyer's writing. I think that your analysis stands out because it ties back to the past rather than comparing it to modern society.
ReplyDeleteThis post was great! I used part of the first quote, "That we (poor women) must endure it all", and I totally agree with you. I like how you went more in depth of why the author may have written this. As well as her feelings toward not only Adam, but all men.
ReplyDeleteI loved how you brought up one of the pieces we read earlier, "A Room of One's Own"! That was really insightful and shows how you have been able to find connections between two different female writers, seemingly not connected otherwise. I also really liked how you pointed out how her writing "(poor women)" could be perceived as annoyed and satirical - I didn't get that impression when I first read it, but since you pointed that out, I can definitely see what you mean. I also agree that the purpose of the poem wasn't necessarily to express Lanyer's religious ideologies, but rather to express her anger with how religion has been used to justify the unequal treatment of the sexes. Well done!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with everything you wrote! Lanyer tries to explain that the reasoning behind why Eve took the fruit and then how she was not the only person to be blamed. Adam, who was not nearly condemned as much as Eve should have also been blamed just as much as Eve. Due to Eve being condemned at the start of time, automatically hurt women and their reputation and thus, were seen as unequals to men. I liked your connection between Virginia Woolf's writing because this poem basically sums up Woolf's argument about how women felt unequal which is why they wrote the way they did.
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