Eve is not my mother. My origin story does not begin with a man’s loneliness. Eve is a cautionary tale: That all hell will break loose when a woman is merely an afterthought. That a woman must chose her life for herself. She must wear the scars of her rebellion as her battle scars.
Eve is a promise! That a woman who has only ever known shackles can be free. Even those shackles disguised as paradise. The golden handcuffs of a life where she’s been told to be grateful she gets to participate in her own dehumanization. Even those women can choose differently. Can seek out liberation. Can burn it all down. Can walk away from paradise, and be alright outside it’s hallowed halls. Can go on to live full lives; make love, make babies, make meaning.