Jerry Brown
May 15, 2018
ENG 1C
Professor Jammal
The Forbidden Fruit of Failure: An Analysis of Adam and Eve
Post-freudian psychoanalysis has many forms, yet I will be using the theory of the
Oedipus Complex and the theory of eros and thanatos. Using these theories, I will analyze the
fable of Adam and Eve, from The Book of Genesis, allegedly written by Moses himself. Adam
and Eve is an extremely significant narrative because the pair, Adam and Eve, they were the first
humans in existence and their symbolic decisions mirror ours. They represent the common man’s
strife and the mistakes we make as a society. Even though its authenticity is debatable, the story
itself holds a perspective that still carries critical answers, and in this day and age, we need all
the help we can get. Evidence for psychoanalytic theories are evident throughout the text. When
the pattern of the myth starting out with unsafe amounts of eros and then flipping to the polar
opposite with large amounts of thanatos is paired with the patterns of the Oedipal Conflict, what
is revealed is that the theme of Adam and Eve is that people have a tendency to make grave
mistakes when they are too driven by a motive.
The segment of the story from where God creates Adam to where Adam and Eve feel no
shame while naked show examples of how although there is thanatos present, the Oedipus
Conflict as well as eros are densely ingrained in the writing. When God “formed the man from
the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,“ his actions concrete
himself as the mother figure to Adam as well as display eros. God “cleans” and creates order and
life by turning the random dust particles into an intricately designed creature. There is also mind
when he breathes into his nostrils, as nostrils have a connotation of calm, meditated breathing
often used in spiritual practices. God created and gave life to Adam, which mirrors what a
mother does in childbirth. After God given life to Adam, he created the Garden of Eden, the tree
or life, and the tree of knowledge and “took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work
it and take care of it.” God displays being fatherly by putting Adam to work and not just
nurturing him. He also displays eros by giving meaning to Adam’s existence by giving him a
purpose, and as well as creating a garden rather than something like a forest. Gardens are
typically a place of order and serenity, which furthers the eros. For the first time, there is
thanatos in the story when God says to Adam, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will
surely die.” God is limiting the freedom of Adam. Also, by doing this, God is also becoming
