Chapter 1, Eve Summary and Analysis

There is a Preface, a complex Table of Contents, and a long listing of women's names. Next, there are chapters featuring individual women. The first woman given a titled chapter is Eve. In this Judaic version, the first woman comes from Adam's rib. This tells some truth: biologically, man and woman are more similar than different. Man and woman are "flesh of one another's flesh" and there is some direct connection. It also leaves out knowledge of how biological procreation works, and omits the obvious fact that every child born emerges from the womb of a woman. However, these truths are more directly revealed when the offspring of Eve and Adam are described.

Having entered into the chapter on Eve, Edith Green is quick to point out ways that this story shows the equality of the two. She emphasizes...