In one of Eve’s early diary entries, she expresses her own perspective on creation, deciding that “I am the main part of it” and that her instincts told her that in spite of this, “eternal vigilance is the price of supremacy” (6). As readers, we bear witness to creation through this feminine lens as opposed to male-centric biblical accounts. But we must remember this perspective is also filtered through yet another lens: that of Twain himself, a male writer at turn of the 20th century famous for his sense of humor and parody–even involving sensitive topics like religion. With this in mind, what are some of the male and female stereotypes that are perpetuated in this short story? Which are parodied to imply the opposite? How have things changed regarding these stereotypes today? Is eternal vigilance still the price of supremacy? NOTE: In the spirit of collegial debate for this post, I encourage you to respond to one another’s comments as an alternative to a new response to the question. Replies will still count for your points (250-300 words, due lesson 23).
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There are several male and female stereotypes shown through Adam and Eve in Twain’s rendition of the story of creation. Adam is portrayed as manly and strong. Eve says she loves him because he is “strong and handsome” (Twain). She says it is not on account of his chivalry, education, or graciousness that she loves him, but it is because he is masculine. Eve even says, “If he should beat me and abuse me, I should go on loving him” (Twain). This shows Twain presenting a female stereotype of the time, which could have humored men in the 1900s. It presents Eve as being weak and relying totally on Adam. Twain wrote this is 1905, when women were seen as lesser than men and did not even have the right to vote. Twain focuses the whole story on Eve’s love for Adam, which is not what the real story of creation was centered around. Twain does not even talk about the sin they made of eating the apple. In the story, Twain almost presents Eve as someone who is dumb and blinded by their love when she says, “I would work for him, and slave over him, and pray for him, and watch by his bedside until I died” (Twain). Twain is trying to show that since Eve was this way, then all women were created this way. This idea has changed significantly from 1905 to today as this idea of women being weak and needing a man is no longer a stereotype. If Twain were to write the story of creation from Eve’s point of view today, it would probably be focused around Eve’s ability to teach Adam things, or it would present them as equals.
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Christina, I agree with you on the stereotypes you address. Gender stereotypes are the behaviors, attitudes and personality traits designated as either masculine or feminine. In our modern-day society, we sometimes view women as very emotional, physically weak, and very feminine. This belief holds in the text, when she wants to talk to Adam and constantly be around him, but when Adam desires to be alone, Eve is hurt. Men are less apt to express their emotions and are not as sensitive to their feelings as women are. Women are more Intimate than men in relationships. In the story, Eve insisted that she should die first because she loved Adam so much, she could not live her life without him. One could also argue that women are more gullible than men. For example, in modern-day, women typically know very little about car sales and maintenance repair cost. Car mechanics tend to rip off women who are gullible to believe anything (i.e an outrageous cost to fix a spark plug). In Eve’s Diary, Eve was gullible and was convinced to break the rule and eat the apple from the forbidden tree. Moreover, society also views women to be smarter than men. Eve displays her smartness when she comes up with the different names of the animals and when she discovers the fire. Adam can not think of or come up with any names for the animals, this displays how society sometimes classifies men as shallow block heads, “He can’t think of a rational name to save him, but I do not let him see that I am aware of his defect…in this way I have saved him many embarrassments”(25).
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After reading “Eve’s Diary,” a main theme I saw was the servitude of Eve to Adam without her recollection. As we see in the short story, both characters pose differences that are influential to their stereotype. Eve is a lost, loving, young, companionate woman. Adam, however, is a quiet, hardworking masculine figure. These qualities depict the general stereotype of both males and females from a man’s point of view. For example, Eve even calls herself “an experiment; just an experiment, and nothing more,” giving the reader insight to her personal beliefs. Her purpose is to follow and aid Adam. She did everything to “flatter him” and make him proud. Everything she did was for him. She is subordinate to him and is seen through the usage of the word “he”. Although this change on naming is miniscule, Eve never mentions that she is a “she”. She mentions “he” and “we”, giving the impression that she can never stand alone. This idea comes alive due how his diary is narrated by a girl but written by a man. This masculine heavy view on woman by Twain basically drives the story. If this story was written by a female, every aspect of the story would be different. Eve would not seem subordinate to Adam and would appear to be stronger. The dialogue, word choice, and narrative would be completely altered. There are stereotypes from every point of view. If a female wrote this, she would put out a stereotype as well. No matter who writes it, a stereotype will always be present.
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Twain is hinting that those are female characteristics. It was a compare and contrast of his strength and attractiveness to the characteristics seen as attractive in women. Furthermore, if a woman was to of written her perspective on love even during this time, I doubt it would represent her to be obsessed with him. Twain tried to write this in perspective of women, but his perception is still of a man as this example represents. Even at West Point now, men will often ignore the accomplishments of women on the IOCT because the standards are different. Also, implying that women are weaker than men as depicted in the story when it mentions women to stay with men despite abuse. Even though this stereotype was more common in the early 1900’s, it is still a stereotype today. Many males I have spoken to have said that they do not think women should be in combat arms because the majority of women could not effectively carry men to safety if men were injured. This further exemplifies that there is still a divide in equality in comparison with men and women. People seem to often forget genetics plays a role in the physical abilities of men and women. Furthermore, Twain writes this not to depict Adam and Eve bringing sin into the world, but it seems the purpose is to hyperbolize a man’s view of women. Even though women are seen more as equals today, there is still a large group of males who believe there are jobs for women and jobs for men. I think if Twain was to write the story again today, it still wouldn’t be written to represent equality in men and women, but he would be more cautious in the manner he wrote it to have a balance in giving women power and purpose without representing them as equal to men.
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I agree that these stereotypes have not changed as much as we have hoped it would have by now, but it has definitely gotten better. I think its important to keep in mind that Twain’s “Eve’s Diary” tells a story from a girl’s perspective but its written by a grown white male at the start of the 1900s. The stereotypes Twain has projected into this short story reflect that of the time period. Women were expected to be there for their husbands. Their job was to support him and the family from inside the house. Women were the creative, innocent, gullible, romantic ones. They craved attention, and when they weren’t given attention, they felt betrayed. All of which has been demonstrated in “Eve’s Diary”. For example, Eve says “my first sorrow. Yesterday he avoided me and seemed to wish I would not talk to him… how could it be that he could feel unkind toward me when I had not done anything?” (Twain). It shows how women take things to heart too easily and overthink the simplest things. From Adam’s Diary you can see that men cared for things with practical value, and women cared for everything from their hearts. Also from his diary, he brings up that women are stubborn and persistent, that nothing satisfies her curiosity until she has tested all possible answers. Near the end of the diary, after Adam and Eve have been banned from the Garden of Eden, Eve says that she loves Adam. She describe love as something that merely has to do with the fact that she is feminine and he is masculine. That no matter what Adam does to her, she could still love him. This reflect the horror of the past, where women didn’t speak up about abuse or beatings. They were expected to love their husbands to their death.
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In Eve’s diary, she wonders if she must take care of her position at the center of the “experiment” in order to maintain it and concludes that “eternal vigilance is the price of supremacy.” This is definitely accurate. Whenever you are at the top of anything, like sports or an industry, there will always be others trying to secure the position that you occupy. In order to maintain such a sought-after position, whoever holds it must continue working to improve just as those below them in order to prevent them from catching up and taking the position. On another note, the diary entries reveal Eve’s growing dependence on Adam as their relationship develops. Presenting Eve’s story through her own perspective would suggest that such a dependence would be downplayed in the writing. However, I believe it is Twain’s own perspective of women, written in 1905, that comes out and emphasizes the stereotype of women being so dependent on men. This is a stereotype which has definitely changed over time, as today it is normal to see women who are financially independent and live their lives without the need for a man to lead them. Twain also involves the sexist stereotype that women talk to much, revealed in Adam’s reasoning for avoiding her for a couple of days. While this is a stereotype that is still common in today’s world, the acknowledgement of it in popular culture is not as common as there is a higher volatility towards negative stereotypes that would discourage their use.
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Austin, I agree with how you explained “eternal vigilance is the price of supremacy”. One way I think Eve claimed her position that matches your definition, occurred when she took on her role of naming the animals. Eve did not give up naming them, stating that “Whenever a new creature comes along, I name it before he has time to expose himself by an awkward silence”(Twain). Eve works hard to name each one before Adam gets the chance to take that job from her
While I do agree that the stereotypes referenced to in the story have changed greatly overtime and are discouraged, I think they still exist. In fact, I do not believe that the stereotypes are just considered ‘wrong’ and forgotten, but women are required to prove that they are wrong. Overall, I think the difference between these stereotypes from the 1900s to the present have drastically changed for the better, it did not come without hard work.
Lastly, I agree that women’s dependency on men is greatly emphasized in this story. I did notice other stereotypes too. One example is the stereotype about how emotional women are. In Twain’s story he tells of moments when each emotion was felt for the first time. The emotions included love, grief, and fear. Although women’s various emotions can be from biological reasons. Another stereotype turns to how a woman cares about appearance and clothes. Twain writes “If I could have one of those skins, it would make a lovely gown”. These examples build up the greater stereotype that women are fragile and weak while men are abundantly masculine an idea heavily displayed through Eve’s diaries .
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As I contemplated this prompt, I had troubling connecting “external vigilance is the price of supremacy” to the male and female stereotypes perpetuated within the story itself. Though as the story develops, these themes began to intertwine. Adam is depicted throughout most of the story as stoic and unemotional. In Twain’s time, this was how a man ought to act and he sets Adam up this way specifically. At one point in the story, Eve mentions that Adam only cared about, “building shacks to coop himself up in from the good clean rain, and thumping the melons, and sampling the grapes, and fingering the fruit on the trees, to see how those properties are coming along?” Adam only seemed to care about protecting (shelter) and providing (sampling of the fruits), which is was considered typical of the male role. On the other hand, Twain depicts Eve with some of the more negative female stereotypes–that women are too talkative, caring, and emotional. Twain also displays Eve as weak, which is demonstrated when Eve attempted to acquire some apples. Adam appreciates Eve’s sensitivity and these qualities may compel Adam to feel the need to protect and serve Eve. Still, Adam struggles to open his capacity to love for Eve. Maybe Adam feels an urge to protect and provide for Eve as influenced by his perception of masculinity. He would rather not get caught up in the trivial pursuits that Eve engages in—he views them as “rubbish”. The capacity to love freely is part of this list as Adam may not see it as part of his masculinity. By protecting and providing for Eve, Adam allows Eve to live her inquisitive, relatively free life. Possibly, for Adam, this was the price of his external vigilance. In exchange for being able to observe her feminine beauty and appreciate her femininity, Adam protects Eve, but the price of this protection is not having the time for trivial pursuits, such as truly loving her. It is not until they are banished from the garden that Adam opens himself up to Eve. He no longer feels himself as supreme over the garden and views Eve as his equal. Thus, this change in circumstances allows Adam to open his capacity to love for Eve. This dynamic is applicable to the state of gender roles and stereotypes in modern times. Today, couples may not feel as compelled to act a certain way as many gender roles are relative to want the couple desires. This is the quintessential definition of “loving freely;” it is not what I feel compelled by society to do, but about what we, as lovers, want for ourselves.
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I agree with this interpretation of Twain’s representation of gender roles in this piece. There is very strong text evidence in support as well. However, I think it is important to emphasize the possibility that Twain’s writing includes elements of parody. The use of blunt statements may be a mechanism to draw attention to gender roles that Twain wishes to create commentary on. One example is when Eve writes “he does not care for flowers. He called them rubbish, and cannot tell one from another, and thinks it is superior to feel like that.” This quote proposes the perspective that flowers, and the delicate emotions they represent in this piece, are subordinate to the priority of shelter and the products of masculine stoicism and labor. An even more direct quote reads “he is strong, I am weak, I am not so necessary to him as he is to me.” While Twain intentionally includes this idea, the purpose of this quote is not to suggest that this is the correct interpretation of gender roles. It is parody. Twain is displaying an oversimplified, almost juvenile, concept of how primitive interpretations of gender roles may emerge.
This relates directly to the discussion of the quote “eternal vigilance is the price of supremacy.” I believe that ‘supremacy’ is not a concept of Eve’s vulnerable emotion being subordinate to Adam’s protection. Rather, because this quote is stated so early in the Diary, it suggests that Eve is commenting on her supremacy as an intellectual individual placed in the garden with a responsibility to be inquisitive. This quote comes at a point in the Diary before Adam is introduced. Eve is recognizing the human power over the environment and that power’s ensuing responsibility. The related phrase “eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty” is was used by Abolitionists in the 1850’s and is also inscribed outside the National Archives in Washington DC. The phrase has broad implications. “Eternal vigilance” is the price all Experiments in the diary seem to pay for their supremacy. The ‘supremacy’ is not of one Experiment over another, but rather a human trait to be inquisitive about our role among all other beings.
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I think you are on the right track with the interpretation of the gender roles that Mark Twain chooses to deal with. Something that I believe would add to your analysis is that Adam more closely resembles a parent when attempting to deal with survival, he is chiefly concerned as you have also mentioned about the material world, this is in contrast to Eve’s very naïve outlook on the world. This outlook I think resembles something like a child’s disposition that focuses on ascetics and entertainment rather than prioritizing survival as a chief concern or comprehending certain consequences. For example, when Eve admired the creation of fire without understanding the danger and massively destructive force that could be associated with it, at the very most she only explains that she now feels fear in the later passages. I would argue that there is an element of maturity that separates Adam and Eve. I think though the concept of “external vigilance is the price of supremacy” may be taken a slightly different direction however, I think Twain does not necessarily deal with the subject as directly as you might be referring to. Part of the biblical story is that Eve convinces Adam (after the devil convinces Eve) to eat the forbidden fruit of the Garden and both are banished afterwards. I think Adam’s focus on survival and on the material world left him somewhat blind to what Eve was doing. In a way Twain makes a parody of the gender roles of his time with the element of blindness, Eve is blind to needs and providing as a necessity a part of her immaturity, while Adam is blind to his emotions and Eve’s love for the world a result of his stoicism.
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The short story “Eve’s Diary” by Mark Twain is unique in the perspective from which it is narrated. It is a retelling of the biblical tale of Adam and Eve, except from Eve’s perspective. The very first female stereotype I noticed in this story lay in its title. It is interesting that the book that Eve is implied to by writing in is called a “diary” rather than a journal. Diary is can be colloquially defined as a girl’s journal. The next female stereotype I noticed was Eve’s love for the moon and stars. She describes the moon as “pretty and romantic.” Eve also expresses her desire to put stars in her hair. In these descriptions of Eve’s desires, the stereotype of a woman’s affinity with makeup and jewelry is expressed. We see this same them having to do with an affinity for clothing shortly after. Eve says she wishes to make a gown out of a tiger. In the following portions of her diary Eve spends a disproportional amount of time describing her relationship with Adam. This represents the stereotype that all women are obsessed with men. Another one later one is that Eve cannot “learn to throw straight.” This implies the stereotype that women are more uncoordinated and less athletic than men. Stereotypes sch as these have shifted away from reality in recent years. It is easy to judge this short story now, but we must realize that Mark Twain wrote this in a different time. Lastly the eternal vigilance line is a little cryptic. I think it is interesting that Eve says, “That is a good phrase, I think, for one so young.” It has a philosophical tone to it. I believe it means that if one is the very relevant, and “on top,” then they must fight to maintain that status. They must always stay vigilant. I believe there is truth in this idea.
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Throughout Eve’s Diary, Mark Twain addresses a multitude of female-male stereotypes when describing Adam and Eve. In one of the entries, Eve (Mark Twain) describes Adam as only liking things that have a use, and persistent on building his house. These are all male-based stereotypes because the first one suggests that males do not appreciate the beauty of things like women do. For example, Eve did not want to show Adam the fire she created because she did not know what it was good for, and men only like things that have a purpose. This example and the description of Adam paint the picture that men are very utilitarian. Additionally, the description of Adam only wanting to build his house suggests that all men want to do is manual labor, that men have no interest in other activities. While there are plenty of examples of male stereotypes, there are also a plethora of female stereotypes. In the brief excerpt told from Adam’s point of view, Adam says that Eve talks too much, which is a stereotype of women because the stereotype is that women talk A LOT, and that is all they do; when that is not true. Another example of a female stereotype is apparent when Eve says she hopes that Adam dies first because she cannot survive without him, and he can survive without her. This is a stereotype because it suggests that women depend on men, and while this may have been the view of women during Twain’s time, it is not the case now; however, nowadays, women are just as independent as men. Personally, I do believe that, in a way, eternal vigilance is the price of supremacy because I have been taught that humans are at the top of the food chain, therefore giving us superiority over the rest of the animal kingdom. And I do believe that we are more vigilant than other types of animals, so driven by that logic, is it true, but I am not 100% sure.
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Adam and Eve are both individually characterized according the gender stereotypes, especially ones that would have been evident at the turn of the 20th century. While Eve is described as soft, kind, and nature-loving, Adam is strong, intimidating, and cool. In Eve’s accounts, she acknowledges that Adam is masculine, and even if he is not kind or intelligent, she is still very attracted to him just because he is masculine. No matter whether he ignores her, is cruel to her, or even if he had beaten her, Eve notes that she would still love him. This is perhaps a parody entered by Twain to emphasize such a stereotype of women in his time. Especially in abusive relationships, some men would believe they could do anything to their partners and that they would still stay because they were insufficient women who needed them to survive. However, Eve does survive on her own. She does so for long periods of time, living amongst nature, and demonstrating a vast breadth of knowledge about the new world which Adam lacks. Nonetheless, she still thinks she needs Adam, perhaps symbolizing a stereotype that tells women they must get married to a man because they are not capable of surviving on their own. Though Twain shows Eve adhering to these stereotypes, his illustration of her as intelligent and capable also implies the opposite. She is able, though held back by invisible thoughts of incompetency. Such stereotypes, though they do persist minorly today, have changed. Women can live on their own without a man today and it is much more common, though the “norm” still underpins many.
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Emma, I agree with your post, and thought that it had a lot of interesting points. When I was reading “Eve’s Diary” a lot of the stereotypes of men and women were very evident. Adam was explicitly and implicitly portrayed as the masculine man of his time. Additionally, Eve portrayed many of the stereotypes of a feminine and dependent women of her time. Originally, I thought that it was Twain choosing to poke fun at a lot of the stereotypes, and try to show some of the cracks in the reasoning behind it, but your analysis about applying it to a relationship was different. The relationship standpoint is not what I first thought about when I read the short story, but it does make a lot of sense. I especially liked how you pointed out the idea that Eve constantly feeling the need to be in a relationship with Adam is similar to how society always told women that they needed to marry a masculine guy, and that they would not be able to make it on their own, despite having been able to accomplish many things. Additionally, I like that you pointed out that there were a lot of things that was accomplished by Eve that Adam did not know about. I think to add on to this idea you could talk about the fire that Eve started which caught Adam’s attention. Overall I thought this was a well thought out and interesting post that brought out some different aspects of the short story that I did not consider.
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I think this question is flawed in that it presents the text as being some sort of feminine counterpart to the actual Bible. This is false, as if one reads the Book of Genesis, it is written as if by an observer in a neutral tone, not in an inherently male (Adam) or female (Eve) one like Twain’s is. This question also poses a logical fallacy in that in suggests that Twain has a unique perspective because of his gender and his position in time. This is a fallacy because in order for it to be valid, it requires all men at that point in time to share some sort of similar traits that can be generalized by us as observers 120 years in the future. This is obviously not possible due to the infinite complexities of human personality and design. Many find it easy to simply point to the fact that it is emphasized that Eve says she loves Adam because is masculine, as if masculinity is in itself a stereotype. No, masculinity is something that can change and that is fluid. People have claimed that part of the masculinity that Twain showed was being strong and handsome and that these are supposed to be exemplifications of stereotypes of how men should be. Eve says though that she does not care and even if he lacked these she would still love him. She ends up saying she loves him because he is hers and is masculine. Twain leaves masculine as being very open-ended. He mentions traits prior to this point, but Eve negates the necessity of some of them and makes it very clear the two things that are important. He does paint a picture of sorts with what Adam is like but it is hard to discuss stereotypes when it seems Twain leaves the traits of being a man up to the imagination of the reader. There are examples of female stereotypes present such as Eve being portrayed as talking too much, or hoping that she does not have to live without Adam, suggesting a dependency on him. Twain though shows Eve as being quite independent and intelligent, and able to make her own way. Eternal vigilance is certainly the price for supremacy as if your guard is let down, you open yourself up to attack. This story from Genesis shows humans when they were just starting out and were weak, but now, we like to see ourselves as being at the top of the food chain.
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In this short story, one of the biggest stereotypes that stood out to me was the reason Eve “loved” Adam. She said she loved him because he was “Masculine and nothing more”(Twain). This was a shocking thing to me cause although they were the only two humans on the planet at this point, you would think her feelings as a whole for Adam would be based on what he does for her and with her in their “relationship”. Is it possible that God created her to just be attracted to Adam because of his masculinity or because she doesn’t know any better? One stereotype that could be parodied is the fact that Twain makes Eve much smarter than Adam. At the time, when Twain was writing this, women were still not considered equal to men in anyway. It stood out to me that Twain took a chance and went against the grain of society to show that women can be and are just as smart as men. Lastly, i do not believe that the eternal vigilance is still a price of supremacy. I don’t think that because i think even if Adam and Eve did not meet, they would still be able to survive. To be supreme does not mean that you have to be a type of baby sitter, but to give free will and the power to choose. That is what God did with Adam and Eve, the right to try and determine right from wrong.
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In Twains recount of Adam and Eve in Eves Diary, gender stereotypes and parodies are riddled throughout, some that are relevant in today’s society. It appears that since this is the story of creation, Adam and Eve are the model for who a man and women ought to be. Adam is described as a masculine, strong, and handsome, which is the epitome of what it means to be a stereotypic alpha male in todays world. The identity of Eve is tied to her relation and comparison to Adam, just like in society today, women are described by their connection to a man. For example, I society today women are referred in the media as the wife of their husband and are not described as the individual women they truly are. Eve is describe as blinded with love an attraction to Adam. Eve is described as totally reliant on Adam and even when it is described that she beats him she still loves him and will stick by him no matter what. Explaining the stereotype that women who are victim to domestic violence are to reliant on the male to get away. “I would work for him, and slave over him,” further exemplifies the stereotype that she is reliant on Adam and is a servant to him. But the parody is that now in todays society women are just as good if not better than their masculine counterparts, and they are not defined by a man, but instead they are defined on who they are. Twain says that eternal vigilance is the price of supremacy, which I believe is still accurate today, because those who are power must be on the watch against threats coming for their spot at all times
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In the short story Eve’s Diary by Mark Twain, told through the lens of Eve, Twain expresses several stereotypes for both males and females. In the short story, Eve is portrayed as emotional, dependent, and unstable. Without Adam, Eve is weak. Her well being runs through Adam. Without him she lacks belonging and happiness. Eve is also portrayed as dumb or unaware. Of course this is expected because she is brand new to the world, but the way the story is written, her lack of knowledge about the outside world downplays her importance. For example, when Eve says “The moon got loose last night, and slid down and fell out of the scheme—a very great loss; it breaks my heart to think of it. There isn’t another thing among the ornaments and decorations that is comparable to it for beauty and finish. It should have been fastened better. If we can only get it back again—”, the reader can only think of how unknowledgeable or dumb she is. This allows for the entrance of Adam to save her from everything. Unlike Eve, Adam is portrayed as the typical masculine man. He is strong, handsome, unemotional, etc. It is his duty to claim the woman. Eve can’t live without Adam and would love him even if he enslaved her, beat her, and completely mistreated her. Although I didn’t live in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s, I would these stereotypes wouldn’t completely align with how men and women were stereotyped back then. During this time frame women lacked personal liberty, they weren’t allowed to vote and were looked down on and considered to be lesser than men. In the modern age women for me most part are equal. Women are independent and fully capable.
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In Mark Twain’s Eve’s Diary, there are many female and male stereotypes that are exemplified and shown throughout both Eve and Adam’s actions. Without even looking at her actions, Eve shows female stereotypes when she states that she loves Adam because he is “strong and handsome” (Twain). Instead of being attracted to someone because of how they act or what they believe, Eve is attracted to Adam simply because of his masculine appearance. I feel that this stereotype is not as prevalent anymore, but I think when Twain was writing this, the fact that a woman was in love with a man solely because of his looks and his masculine appearance would have been a feminine stereotype. Twain also presents Eve as a woman who is reliant on a man and as a woman who is not independent because relies on Adam. She states that she would do anything for him and as their relationship grows, so does her dependence on Adam. When Twain wrote this in 1905, there was probably a stereotype that women needed men to survive, now, however, I feel that the stereotype that women need a man and that women rely on men to survive is quickly changing. Now, there are many women who are capable of living on their own and have no need for a man. In addition to stereotyping what Eve thinks, Twain’s descriptions of both Adam and Eve’s personalities are stereotyped as Eve is depicted as having female stereotypes—talkative, caring, and emotional. However, when Twain decribes the actions of Adam, he is depicted as someone who is capable of building shelter, harvesting food and providing for Eve. While there are many typical female and male stereotypes that are highlighted in Twain’s writing, I feel that the general belief is that that most of these stereotypes are not as relevant today as they were in 1905 when Twain wrote this.
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In Eves Diary Mark Twain uses some predictable stereotypes to an extent that hat they become almost comical. His repetition to this effect implies that he is challenging the them in respect to their natural occurrence. It seems that the Adam and Eve in this diary are driven by the stereotypes of how a man and woman are supposed to act instead of the stereotypes being created by their actions. The one dynamic that is contrary to popular stereotypes is that Eve is the dominant, plot-moving figure. This is expected due to it being a diary from her perspective, but Twain takes this a step further. By placing her at the front of the duo, with Adam doing little more than follow along like the stereotypical biblical Eve, he questions the bias that likely tainted the original version of the story as it was passed down through many generations. While it is a serious criticism it is framed in the lighter context of men, like himself, putting a spin on things to favor their own gender. The irony of this point, which he likely knew during writing, is that Eves Diary is skewed in the direction of the female voice. Today, this type of story favoring the female voice is accepted as a reaction to the extensive amount of literature featuring only the male side of the story. While he could not have predicted the extent that it has reached in modern day writing, Twain saw the writing on the wall that writing from the female lens would not fade away after his era.
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The male and female stereotypes found in “Eve’s Diary” mainly manifest through the personalities of the characters. Eve constantly praises the beauty of this new world, and constantly explores never stopping to think about necessities or a desire for structure. Throughout the entire diary she is found being awe-struck by colors and animals, losing herself in the in the world around her. This fits into the female stereotype of being focused on surface beauty and pretty objects. Adam adds to this stereotype as he acts as her opposite counterpart. Adam’s personality is one that is obsessed purely on the necessities and practicality of the world. He criticizes Eve for her ability to be amazed by colors and beauty without thinking about infrastructure or practical actions. This creates the male stereotype of being the provider and patriarchal figure, as he is always building the shelter and renovating the living space. These stereotypes can also be parodied to represent the opposite sex if they are viewed through the lenses of children. While Adam and Eve are portraited as adults, they are new to the world and can be compared to children. Male children are stereotypically rowdy, uncontrollable explorers which are found in Eve’s personality. Female children are stereotypically more behaved and reserved which mirror Adam’s personality. Regarding the stereotypes first mentioned in my response, they have changed today in that males and females are more equally viewed in the household and the workforce. It is not a stereotype for women to be carefree and impractical, and males are no longer stereotypically the sole provider for a household. This shows that elements from the story have changed, but eternal vigilance will always be the price of supremacy. In order to rightfully be above all of creation, we must strive to understand our universe.
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In Mark Twain’s “Eve’s Diary, he narrates through the lens of the biblical figure Eve, while implying stereotypes as well as parodies of the creation story and common stereotypes. In the first passage, Eve says “Some instinct tells me that eternal vigilance is the price of supremacy,”(Twain Eve’s Diary). In order to unpack this saying, one has to understand the time period this applies to. As history books tell it, humanity used a hunter-gatherer method in its primitive years. In this method, the men would typically hunt, which requires them to be alert and vigilant, while women tend to the children and spend less time out and about. The irony and slight parody associated with this quote is that a woman is saying it, which was very rare for her and Mark Twain’s time. In general, Twain paints Eve and the other male experiment (Adam) in common stereotypical ways. For example, their interactions often consist of Eve chasing and trying to pry Adam to talk more and be more engaged. She observes “This morning I told him my name, hoping it would interest him. But he did not care for it.”(Twain). Twain highlights a critical relationship stereotype here. Typically, men are known to be more reserved and less emotional, while women are the opposite. Here, Adam clearly maintains a reserved, stone cold personality, while Eve represents brightness and personal tact.However, I would say that this stereotype has changed. Now, both aspects of a relationship are equally committed and engaged in each other.
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In “Eve’s Diary,” Twain writes a parody that presents itself like it would be an actual events. The actual biblical story about creations is quite different than Twain writes about, but it is meant to be that way. Intertwined in his story is two characters, Adam and Even, and they are portrayed with qualities that are stereotypical to males and females during that time period. Their interpretations could be considered on the extreme side of the spectrum of stereotypes. Adam’s characteristics include stern and very masculine. He seemed to be strictly about work and his job, and he seemed to have no time for Eve. Eve tries multiple times to talk to Adam, and after giving a cold shoulder to her, she is upset and says, “he does not care for flowers. He called them rubbish, and cannot tell one from another, and thinks it is superior to feel like that. He does not care for me, he does not care for flowers, he does not care for the painted sky at eventide” (Twain). This type of attitude would be the extreme male stereotype during that time. On the other hand, Eve also is given a role which falls into the extreme female stereotype during Twain’s time period. She is given this image all throughout the story, but it especially is shown toward the end when she says, “Yes, I think I love him merely because he is MINE and is MASCULINE. There is no other reason, I suppose. And so I think it is as I first said: that this kind of love is not a product of reasonings and statistics. It just COMES—none knows whence—and cannot explain itself. And doesn’t need to” (Twain). She gives off the impression that she just loves him because he is a man and that she would love him no matter what. Although, she also does mention that she is the first do this and that she doesn’t know any better.
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Marks Twain’s in his short story “Eve’s Diary” reframes the classical biblical story of Adam and Eve and in doing so rejects many of the sexist undertones of the story although there still is a sexist undertone as Twain still uses stereotypes in his portrayal of Eve. One of the better rejections of sexism that the story made was that it changed the power dynamic between Adam and Eve. In the original story Adam was made first and named all the animals without Eve and Eve was created from his own bone after he was granted dominion over the world. Many people have used the power dynamic presented in the original story to justify their ideas of male superiority and Twain rejects this idea by having the two made concurrently and them both being granted both eternal supremacy and vigilance. However even though Twain rejects the biblical imbalance of power his story still has an imbalance as in many ways Eve still acts like a stereotypical submissive female. She is at first somewhat indifferent of Adam but she becomes dependent upon him and is weaker due to it. She says that she thinks that she could love Adam even if he was not a good person, she would love him even if he were abusive. She says that “I should love him; and I would work for him, and slave over him, and pray for him, and watch by his bedside until I died”. She says that she loves him for his sex which indicates that she is submissive to him due to his status as a male which is problematic as it contradicts the earlier power shift.
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Marks Twain’s in his short story “Eve’s Diary” reframes the classical biblical story of Adam and Eve and in doing so rejects many of the sexist undertones of the story although there still is a sexist undertone as Twain still uses stereotypes in his portrayal of Eve. One of the better rejections of sexism that the story made was that it changed the power dynamic between Adam and Eve. In the original story Adam was made first and named all the animals without Eve and Eve was created from his own bone after he was granted dominion over the world. Many people have used the power dynamic presented in the original story to justify their ideas of male superiority and Twain rejects this idea by having the two made concurrently and them both being granted both eternal supremacy and vigilance. However even though Twain rejects the biblical imbalance of power his story still has an imbalance as in many ways Eve still acts like a stereotypical submissive female. She is at first somewhat indifferent of Adam but she becomes dependent upon him and is weaker due to it. She says that she thinks that she could love Adam even if he was not a good person, she would love him even if he were abusive. She says that “I should love him; and I would work for him, and slave over him, and pray for him, and watch by his bedside until I died”. She says that she loves him for his sex which indicates that she is submissive to him due to his status as a male which is problematic as it contradicts the earlier power shift.
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Marks Twain’s in his short story “Eve’s Diary” reframes the classical biblical story of Adam and Eve and in doing so rejects many of the sexist undertones of the story although there still is a sexist undertone as Twain still uses stereotypes in his portrayal of Eve. One of the better rejections of sexism that the story made was that it changed the power dynamic between Adam and Eve. In the original story, Adam was made first and named all the animals without Eve and Eve was created from his own bone after he was granted dominion over the world. Many people have used the power dynamic presented in the original story to justify their ideas of male superiority and Twain rejects this idea by having the two made concurrently and them both being granted both eternal supremacy and vigilance. However, even though Twain rejects the biblical imbalance of power his story still has an imbalance as in many ways Eve still acts like a stereotypical submissive female. She is at first somewhat indifferent to Adam but she becomes dependent upon him and is weaker due to it. She says that she thinks that she could love Adam even if he was not a good person, she would love him even if he were abusive. She says that “I should love him, and I would work for him, and slave over him, and pray for him, and watch by his bedside until I died”. She says that she loves him for his sex which indicates that she is submissive to him due to his status as a male which is problematic as it contradicts the earlier power shift.
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Mark Twain’s portrayal of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is riddled with gender stereotypes. Much more focus is given to female stereotypes than male stereotypes on account of this story mainly following the perspective of Eve. Eve is portrayed as talkative, caring, curious, and at times clueless. On the flipside, Adam is portrayed as reserved, strong, and generally unempathetic. Eve spends most of her time studying nature and trying to arrive at conclusions about the how and why of things through trial and error. However, she cannot brush aside the fact that her principle desire is to please Adam, who doesn’t appear to care at all for her inquisitive nature. However, in the small segment that is written from Adam’s perspective, it is revealed that he does indeed care for her but thinks she is clueless and doesn’t focus her time on “useful” things like building shacks and farming. Even after they were thrown out of the Garden, Eve’s primary focus in life was Adam. And it seems that she wasn’t too sad about being kicked out of the Garden either, because she admitted now that she was in love with Adam for a reason she couldn’t quite put her finger on. And in the close of the story, it is revealed that Adam loved Eve. The stereotype presented here is that the woman needed a man to feel complete, and her desire was to please the man. Since Twain wrote this in the early twentieth century, this stereotype would have been prominent because there was hardly a concept of an independent woman at this point in American history. This stereotype has changed today, as there are many independent women who do not feel the need to marry. However, some stereotypes that one might argue still exist are that women are talkative and caring, and men are not as talkative or caring.
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I agree that the stereotypes in “Eve’s Diary” are predominantly focused on the female gender. The writing by Mark Twain focuses on Eve’s creation and relationship to Adam. They are the world’s first female and male, respectively. Biblically, Eve was created from one of Adam’s ribs and they are bonded together, living in the Garden of Eden. In Eve’s Diary, there is much more emphasis on Eve’s curious nature. While Adam regarded it as a waste of time, she sought answers and Adam himself instead of thinking about the more practical things like food and shelter. Eve is reliant on Adam both physically and emotionally, which I suppose was the gender stereotype at the time. That a woman needed a man to survive and thrive. Adam is also revealed to like Eve but to me is sounds fairly paternalistic in nature. In today’s world, men and women are regarded more as equal partners in any relationship. For Adam and Eve, it is clear that Adam is the dominant partner and the one who is expected to provide. In regards to “eternal vigilance” being the “price of supremacy”, I think that means that those on top of the food chain, so to speak, have a duty to look out for and protect those beneath them. Adam and Eve are at the top of their environment, and normally it is shown that a man, in this case Adam, would be the most supreme. The same is true for this story except that it could be interpreted that Eve is most superior because of her observations and thoughts. Adam is just the muscle to enable existence, while Eve is the brain to enhance life and thrive.
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In short story Eve’s Diary by Mark Twain, there are multiple male and female stereotypes embedded throughout. From the beginning Eve is portrayed as being very passionate, curious, and imaginative, specifically with nature. She tries to share her passion of nature with Adam but quickly realizes that he does not take the same interest. This is one stereotype that men are less imaginative and passionate about beauty than women are. There were multiple instances in the story where Adam would seem to distance himself from Eve which caused her to have her “first sorrow”. This represents the stereotype that men are less emotional than women. As the story progresses, Eve becomes more dependent on Adam and explains that no matter what the circumstances were, she would love him “merely because he is [hers] and is masculine”. She also says that if he would beat and abuse her, she would go on loving him. This insinuates that women are dependent on men and need men because they are strong and able to provide whereas women are weak and love hard even if they are in toxic and abusive relationships. Today, these stereotypes are not nearly as prominent as they were in the early 1900s. Most of society, except for some, do not look at women as needing a man to depend on. I do believe that eternal vigilance is the price of supremacy. Although it sounds a lot like people living in fear and I do not necessarily agree with this concept, it is human instinct to keep a careful watch over things that are important to them in order to maintain that supremacy in multiple different aspects of life.
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Eve is portrayed as dumb, scatterbrained, and as having a short attention span. She is overly expressive about everything that happens in the story and becomes obsessed with beauty and beautiful things. She like these things so much that she grabs at a flower without even realizing that it is covered in thorns (Twain). This perpetuates the stereotype that women are less intelligent and focus on trivial matters. This idea would not be accepted today because women are becoming more and more educated. Among the beautiful things she focuses on is Adam. She follows him around and watches what he does. She thinks about him all hours of the day and wishes to live with him. This stereotypes women as needing a man to protect and provide for them, because Adam builds a shelter and fire for Eve. He is a harder worker, and speaks much more intelligently than Eve does. She only loves him and follows him because he is masculine (Twain), and states that she would love him even if he beat or abused her. This would absolutely not be acceptable by today’s standards, but would be more accepted by a man in the late 19th or early 20th century such as Twain. Eve is careless and requires Adam to keep her in check, or even save her in some circumstances. In the situation where Eve wanted a pet brontosaurus, Adam was there to tell her no and keep her safe. In conclusion, when Eve dies, she says that “I am the first wife; and in the last wife I shall be repeated.” (Twain). This statement means that her behavior is representative of all women that will come after her, and that no woman will be different.
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Some of the female stereotypes presented in the short story are noticing beauty, love and compassion, and companionship. Each of these appear in the story when Twain is writing from Eve’s perspective and society often associates the stereotypes with females. Eve takes notice of everything in the world once she is created and sees the beauty in everything. This is not typical for males, but often seen as a trait of females. She shows love and compassion openly for Adam and all the animals around her. These are also traits that are associated with females more often than males. In addition, she seeks companionship with Adam and always wants to be around him. In most cases, it is portrayed that the female figure is the one to seek companionship over the male figure. There are also male stereotypes portrayed. Adam is written as a character who cares about survival over showing compassion for Eve. When Eve is around too long, he tells her he needs some space. As opposed to trying to become friends with the animals, he builds a shelter. He does not show true love for Eve until he is at her grave. The male is often portrayed in the manner of not caring about others and sometimes being cold. Adam is portrayed this way and only shows his true feelings when Eve is no longer with him. I believe that all the stereotypes are being parodied by Twain. I think he is trying to portray the message that stereotypes do not define who an individual is. By writing characters that have the traits more present, he can effectively combat the stereotypes and reduce their influence.
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Daniel, I agreed with your post until the end when you said Twain meant to, “effectively combat the stereotypes and reduce their influence.” I couldn’t agree with this because he includes so many stereotypes that I can’t see how his conclusion would be to disregard the stereotypes. Under this conclusion, I think a stronger argument would consist of some of the paradoxical stereotypes Twain uses. I would definitely say that most stereotypes stick out as early 1900s prejudice. Eve’s being mesmerized by Adam, her whimsical friendships with animals, even her silly actions such as grabbing thorns highlight some stereotypes of women from that time period. Women were still very domestic at this time and it could be argued that they were treated more like the children they cared for than their husbands. Before suffrage in 1919 and well into the twentieth century, the stereotypes of women being controlled by their emotions was strong. Twain shows those stereotypes in his story, but he also includes some thoughts that I believe were his own progressive ideas. The most obvious is Eve’s perceived intelligence. This is pointed out by her language abilities when she names plants, animals, and even the moon. This is in contrast to Adam who she even mentions might be embarrassed by his inability to name things. I also found it interesting that it is a common fact in recent years that girls learn language faster than boys. Going back to my point though, I think that Twain’s inclusion of this skill Eve has shows some divergence in his thought from stereotypes of the day. Although he clearly communicated negative stereotypes, he may have also had some progressive opini9ons about women’s intelligence.
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Twain clearly utilizes stereotypes for both males and females to provide a satirical comment on societal values. Adam fills the stereotypical role a strong man who provides sustenance. On the other hand, Eve submits to Adam and admits to being able to love him even if he were to beat her. She also asks whether she should “take care of it (earth)” and goes about cleaning and tidying up the earth (Twain). She looks at the beauty of the stars of the moon when she says “there isn’t another thing among the ornaments and decorations that is comparable” (Twain). The stereotypes are obvious. Adam (men) is portrayed as somewhat lazy, dominant, and unemotional while Eve (women) is portrayed as talkative, interested in style and beauty, and eager. What is harder to interpret is what Twain is using these stereotypes to mean. The quote “eternal vigilance is the price of supremacy” seems to show that he supports a patriarchal dominated society. Yet Eve is the one who says this. Maybe Twain is portraying Eve as the one who truly understands what is going on. While Adam is concerned with the big picture, he forgets about all the smaller things. Eve, initially coming from less responsibility, can appreciate the finer details. Twain seems to be saying that there are two different ways to look at the world; the macro and the micro, and that each person, man or woman, brings a different way to look at the way things are. Each outlook is needed, but each needs to be different as well. These stereotypes do exist today, but not in the same capacity as they did before. Being unique and going against the grain of society is supported today, and as a result stereotypes are beginning to mean less and less.
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Throughout Twain’s short story, “Eve’s Diary” the differences between man and women are presented in many ways. The story is told from Eve’s perspective, focusing on her thoughts, emotions, and experiences in the world of Eden. In order to fully understand the story, a knowledge of the traditional biblical story is also important, as the contrasts between the book of Genesis (which is told, in part, from Adam’s perspective) and “Eve’s Diary” are meant to highlight similar contrasts between the nature of men and women. In addition, Twain himself was an important advocate for women’s rights in his time, pushing for equality and fair treatment regardless of gender. So, with this background knowledge of the traditional Bible and Twain’s personal beliefs, one can analyze the true purpose behind the gender differences presented in this story. Eve is presented in the story as simple, needy, and emotional. She wonders about obvious things, and comes to entirely wrong conclusions. For instance, she believes that stars melt from the sky or that the moon fell from the sky the first night, but a neighbor returned it. She frequently tries to touch the stars with her hands and with sticks. She also craves Adam’s attention, following him frequently and getting upset when he does not reciprocate the care she puts forth. Adam on the other hand, seems to understand the world around him entirely. By placing these differences in such an obvious light, it begs the question of the reader, why is Eve so much simpler? After all, Adam does not have more experience than Eve, and yet he seems more adept at understanding the world. This contrast highlights the ridiculous notion that women are somehow less capable than men. If this were the case, then there would be nothing wrong with the story. But as the reader becomes dissatisfied with Eve’s strange actions, it challenges the idea of an inequality between genders.
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In Eve’s Diary, it is easy to realize that Mark Twain is giving his own spin on creation. The entire story is told From Eve’s perspective, and Twain gives insights as to how she felt when she realized that she was not the only one on the land. I found it really funny when she first came across Adam that she thought he was a reptile, or a piece of architecture. One stereotype a reader might find is when Eve talks about the man resting too much, which could imply that her thoughts of a man was that he is lazy. She also talks about her early impressions of him being ungentle and having little compassion. These are the traits that Eve sees in herself, which make seeing them in this man something very new for her. A very heart felt moment in the story is when Adam is ignoring her. He did not want to be around her for so long, so he went on his own way. She wished that he would care for her and she hopes for someone to talk to, but Adam does not care. She continues to come to peace with her reflection that she believes is a real person. From Adam’s point of view, he sees Eve as someone who is totally different than him, explaining how some of her interests do not interest him. He also talked about how nothing ever satisfies her, which could be a stereotype against women from the male’s perspective. Stereotypes do not define a person, as we have learned today. It is what is inside the heart that matters.
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Many stereotypes regarding the sexes are analyzed, parodied, and targeted by Twain in his “Eve’s Diary.” Perhaps the most frequent are the stereotypes that women are more appreciative of beautiful things compared to useful things, or that men are callous and indifferent. Some stereotypes – like that men enjoy destruction – are parodied. This comes in the form of Adam showing indifference to the very useful but destructive fire. These stereotypes have not changed greatly in the past century+ after this piece was written. Still today, it is a stereotype that women and men are interested in different things, but the stigma from what those things are seem to have been removed. People care much less about what you do, so long as it doesn’t bother them. Eve, however disliked greatly that Adam didn’t see the beauty in things. On the other hand, Adam loathed the fact that Eve’s ponderings were “meaningless.”
The quote, “eternal vigilance is the price of supremacy,” comes from an old quote from Thomas Jefferson that reads, “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” Both refer to the need for a never-ending vigilance due to either enemies or inferior beings. Eternal vigilance is still the price of supremacy. Take a look at the strong nations today – the USA, the UK, China, Russia, etc. – they all yield great defense. They need to because they suffer attacks against their superiority every day. If they were to stop defending themselves, their supremacy would end. Therefor, “eternal vigilance is the price of supremacy,” holds.
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At the beginning of the twentieth century, the role of women in society differed significantly from todays’. In democratic developed countries, women occupy the same positions as men, they often earn much better than men. However, at the time Mark Twain was writing this story, women in most states did not have electoral rights and they could not occupy important public functions. Stereotypes about women and men have not changed much since then. In the interpretation of the creation of the world presented by Twain, he parodies Eve’s behavior to highlight these stereotypes. Majority of the people believe that men ought to be masculine. This stereotype is reproduced in Twain’s story. Eve describes Adam as “strong and handsome,” and that is the reason why she felt in love with him. The author considers women’s stereotype too. People claim that women are more emotional and therefore cries more. “So, I cried a little, which was natural.” It is also known that women don’t have orientation in the field. This is another example of stereotype brought by Twain. “I couldn’t get back home; it was too far and turning cold […] Today I am getting better ideas about distances.” He also emphasizes that women and men do not understand each other. “This morning I told him my name, hoping it would interest him. But he did not care for it. It is strange.” I believe that stereotypes did not change that much since the turn of twentieth century. For instance, the division in sex is natural in sport, due to genetic features in women and men. But why is there a gender breakdown in chess? Do women think differently? Or maybe the environment we live in still recognizes stereotypes?
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Adam and Eve both portray many male and female stereotypes of the 1900s. One of them is Eve is shown as serving Adam. In her diary she describes how she follows him around and helps him with different things, like making names for all the new things they encounter because Adam is not good at coming up with names. Another part in the diary, Adam describes how he would not let her keep a pet Brontosaurs. These two instances in the diary show that Adam makes all the decisions in the relationship and Eve just follows and helps when she can. In other words, Eve serves Adam. It gets to the point where Eve admits that she loves Adam so much that even if he abused her, she would still love him and be with him. In the 1900s, the stereotype was that women served their husbands and the husbands made all the important decisions in the relationship. This has evolved in today’s world and women have more freedom to be their own person. In relationships, decisions are made through mutual agreement between a husband and wife and not just by the husband. In today’s world, eternal vigilance is still the price for supremacy. Humans still find themselves always watching to make sure they stay out of danger. The last couple weeks are a perfect example of this. The entire country has been in complete lockdown to keep people safe from Covid-19. This proves that humans are still in constant watch for dangerous situations.
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In “Eve’s Diary,” Twain writes about creation and the roles of man and women through the eyes of Eve, the first woman. In the short story the relationship between Adam and Eve and their character traits could be looked at to try and characterize some of the stereotypes that surrounded men and women during Twain’s time in the 20th century and even into the 21st century. Adam was masculine and independent by Eve, he was someone that would be able to stand on his own even without her as he did before she was born. I believe this stereotype is still prevalent today and culture even in the most developed nations, although many would not like to admit it. This idea of man needing to be strong and independent is perpetuated in Twain’s story, but also masks this idea in real life, although it is often unsaid. Eve is seen as more compassionate and caring than Adam, which is also another stereotype that can be seen today. This idea of openly expressing emotion is a feminine quality in society, it believed to be a societal norm, while men are believed to hold a tighter rein on their emotions. Both Eve and Adam do not truly understand how the other feels, which Twain might have done to mask society in his time and the future. I believe men and women still do not truly understand each other and the other sides struggles. A situation in the story that could represent this is Eve’s hope of dying first because she thinks Adam is strong enough to be without her because she sees him as independent. When Eve died, Adam was sad and said she was his “Eden,” and just her presence made him happy. They were not able to comprehend how they felt about each other, but they needed each other to survive.
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Mark Twain’s short story, “Eve’s Diary,” examines the story of creation from the perspective of Eve instead of the traditional male oriented reading found in the Bible. Twain utilizes gender stereotypes to create a comedic but, given the timeframe of publication, controversial retelling of the story of creation found in the beginning of the book of Genesis. The first noticeable stereotype relates to her and Adam’s different outlooks on life. Eve takes note of everything’s beauty and intrinsic values going so far as to say, “this majestic new world is indeed a most noble and beautiful work” (Twain). Despite how she intrinsically values the beauty of the world, it is worth mentioning that she often nitpicks how the world looks, another gender stereotype. Ironically describing the work of what is taken to be a perfect God, Eve still finds fault with the world, at least in its initial state. She notes such issues as, “the mountains were left in a jagged condition” and, “there are too many stars in some places and not enough in others” (Twain). This overtly critical nature is played for laughs, but it does bring cast doubt into the idea of a perfect being serving as the creator, no doubt a controversial opinion to have at the time. Eve’s observant nature is contrasted with the hard-working stereotypical nature of Adam. Eve seems to characterize Adam as uninterested in many of the natural wonders around him as he only seems to be interested in manual labor. This leads to some minor conflict between the two stereotypical gender models but toward the end, Eve describes their relationship with, “I think I love him merely because he is MINE and he is MASCULINE” (Twain). The importance of these values from the female perspective, ironically, could be considered controversial today.
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“Eve’s Diary” by Mark Twain is a short summation of the biblical event of Adam and Eve and the beginning of time and initial release of sin upon man and their fall from grace compared to god’s initial intention. But the story itself is written from the perspective of Eve in a diary still format that recounts the events from the conception of humanity. Twain definitely has his own representation of the occurrence of events adding such elements of humor and perspective of what he believes are the normal gender roles between males and females for the time. It becomes inherently evident that right of the bat both Eve and Adam perceive the world from different lens in that Eve sees the beauty of the world and becomes immensely curious of the world that she was just conceived. Adam takes a more scrupulous route on his perception of the world and even begins the story of by ignoring the likes of Eve forcing her to consul with her “sister” which is just a reflection of herself in a pool of water. Eve would be found a majority of the time roaming the land with her “friends” (the animals) away from Adam, on her curiosity alone. But over time Eve became affectionate for Adam falling more not for is charms or mentality but more so just for the masculine nature of Adam which became a source of infatuation for Eve. This culminates even towards Eve’s later life where she wishes to die before Adam as he is undoubtedly stronger than her and should survive longer. She also expresses that if he was to pass before her, she would most likely not be able to live on and fall into a deep depression of the loss of the love of her life.
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Twain weaves a story of Adam and Eve, recounted mostly through Eve’s diary, that both reinforces and disagrees with traditional gender norms. Throughout the story, Eve admires the beauty of all of the creations, whereas the man is only interested in things he finds to be of use. Here is a more traditional take on gender norms. A prevailing stereotype of gender is that men tend to be cold and logical while women tend to be more emotional and sentimental. However, this traditional base of attitudes sets up a situation that Twain uses to defy another stereotype. Because Eve is so interested in the beauty of the world, she starts to work on unraveling its mysteries. She even develops a sort of scientific process, trying things over and over to observe the results. Eventually, she goes as far to discover fire, symbolic of mankind’s creates innovations. Meanwhile, Adam is not interested in learning things that don’t immediately have use to him. He remains complacent and doesn’t progress. By conflicting with traditional stereotypes of men, with their cold logic, having the more engineering and scientific mind, Twain is conveying an important message. Passion and a thirst for understanding play a crucial part in growth. This is a message lost in more modern gender stereotypes. Traditionally, there is a distinction between the practical, cold man and the impractical, emotional woman. This imagined difference is limiting to both genders. Emotions, such as a driving passion, are required for progress, a point Twain argues in his creation of an adventurous Eve.
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There are various male and female stereotypes that are shown through Adam and Eve in the Twain version of the story of creation. Adam is demonstrated as being as virile and strong, and Eve says she loves him because he is “strong and beautiful” (Twain). She describes that it is not because of his chivalry, education or kindness that she loves him, but because he is male, showing how love was purely based off the want of gender at that time. This shows that Twain presents a feminine stereotype of the time, which could have encouraged men in the 20th century. He presents Eve as a weak and completely confident Adam. Twain wrote that it was in 1905, when women were seen as less than men and did not even have the right to vote. Twain focuses the whole story on Eve’s love for Adam, which is not what the real story of creation was centered on. Twain doesn’t even talk about the sin they committed by eating the apple. In the story, Twain almost portrays Eve as a stupid person blinded by her love when she says, “I would work for him, I would enslave him, I would pray for him and watch over his bed until I died.” (Twain) Twain he’s trying to show that since Eva was like this, all women have been created this way. This idea has changed from 1905 to the modern times of society, because the idea that women are weak and need a man is no longer a stereotype. If Twain were to write creation history from Eve’s point of view today, he would likely focus on Eve’s ability to teach Adam things, or to present them on an equal footing.
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In the short story by Mark Twain, there are male and female stereotypes that still exist today. Reading it, it was a bit surprising that this portrayal of a “needy” female is not new. Just like oftentimes women are portrayed as being obsessive in modern romantic comedies, Eve is portrayed the same way in Twain’s story. Eve comes across as simple-minded and dependent on attention from Adam. It is unfortunate that this idea of females has persisted for such a long time. On the other hand, Adam is portrayed as being independent and strong. These characteristics that are given to Adam result in Eve being fascinated by his every behavior. This shows that men were thought to be superior-minded and above women, Eve is almost incapable of the “cool” things Adam does. Adam gives little care to what Eve does- even if it is important (such as her discovery/creation of fire.) It seems as if Eve as at Adam’s disposal; he decides when he wants to give her attention and when she is an annoyance. Adam uses Eve when it is convenient for him- this outwardly shows that women are there to serve men, but more deeply shows that men will dumbly overlook the accomplishments of females. It is interesting how Twain presents the conditions that men and women are structured in society and simultaneously points out the societal flaw: that women are imperative for the development of civilization. This conditional treatment of Eve goes to show the under-valued nature of women in Twain’s time… an attitude that has lessened today but persists.
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I personally thought that Twain’s attempt at telling the traditional biblical account from Eve’s perspective resulted in the proliferation of many female and male stereotypes based on the way a man thought a woman would think. When Twain wrote as if he was Eve, the character’s thoughts and sentiments included many gender stereotypes because anything the female character Eve was portrayed to think was first filtered through the mind of Mark Twain, a male author in the 19th century. Therefore, the reader sees many female stereotypes that men have created for women but portrayed from the women’s point of view. So for example, Twain overemphasizes the emotion of Eve, her caring nature and inclination towards talkativeness. Most noticeable of the female stereotypes is her dependence on Adam, however, I did find it interesting that although she depended on Adam, there was multiple points where she talked about him being dull and the fact that she was possibly only attracted to his masculinity rather than his personal traits. The male stereotypes portrayed were strength and competence with hands, but interestingly also a lack of emotion and sometimes what seemed like a lack of intelligence. This sometimes seemed like Twain was almost trying too hard to think from a female perspective and started to make leaps in what he would assume a female would think. Although he is off on some things, I do feel like a lot of these stereotypes have continued to this day and age, including the emotional-ness of women and dependence on men he depicts which are often still portrayed in media like movies and TV today.
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In the short story “Eve’s Diary” by Mark Twain, the author uses male and female stereotypes to poke fun at society. Eve is portrayed as connected to nature and beauty, while Adam cares for none of those. I found it interesting that Adam is portrayed as handy, building a shelter when Eve does not have one. Eve also is not very athletic, her eye-hand coordination is quite poor, alluding to the stereotype that females are not good at sports. Adam is very practical, while Eve is obsessed about “trivial” things such as color and beauty, which is in line with modern day stereotypes about men and women. It is interesting that Eve is needy for Adam’s affection, as this is the opposite of the stereotype that men “chase after women.” I would say that these stereotypes continue to be true today to a moderate extent. For example, the WNBA does not get even half the recognition that the NBA does. I think it is interesting that Eve says that she should continue to love him even if he beats her or abuses her, and Twain uses this to point out the issue of domestic violence that continues to be a problem today.
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There are a lot of gender stereotypes in Twain’s “Eve’s Diary”, which I think is understandable for it being written from a man’s perspective in 1905. One of the first gender stereotypes that appears in the short story is Eve’s fascination with beauty. Twain writes, “For I do love moons, they are so pretty and so romantic. I wish we had five or six; I would never go to bed; I should never get tired lying on the moss-bank and looking up at them.” She is portrayed as someone who is curious about nature and so enamored by its beauty that she thinks nonsensical thoughts about it. On the other hand, Adam is not portrayed as having any opinions on things like this. I understand that this is partially because the story is titled “Eve’s Diary” so Eve’s thoughts are explicitly shown while Adam’s are more inferred. Eve also shows a stronger desire to be around Adam than he does to her. While Adam seems weighed down by the task of naming everything in the world, Eve sees this and tries to help him. Still, Adam seems annoyed with Eve and sometimes would rather not be around her. Gender stereotypes like the ones in this short story are still present today, although not as much as they were in the early 20th century. Women are still thought to have more shallow thoughts, like how pretty the moon and the stars are, while men are expected to always be practical. Women are also portrayed as needing a man, while men could do without and often get annoyed with the clinginess of women. While these stereotypes could be looked at as a bad thing coming from Twain, I do not think that he was trying to portray it that way. Rather, after looking into the inspiration behind this piece, it is discovered that Twain wrote “Eve’s Diary” as a tribute to his late wife, which would suggest that all of the characteristics we see in Eve are characteristics that Twain admired.
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