EN372: All About Eve

Spring Semester 2011

First Essay Assignment

The first essay is due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, March 2.

The paper should be about 5-6 pages long. In it, you should compare and contrast the representation of Eve in any two of the ancient, medieval, or Renaissance texts that we have read, including:

• Genesis 1-3
• Sirach
• The Book of Jubilees
• The Life of Adam and Eve (The Apocalypse of Moses)
• The Hypostasis of the Archons (The Reality of the Rulers)
• Thunder: Perfect Mind
• Tertullian, "On the Apparel of Women"
• Origen, "Homilies on Genesis"
• St. Ambrose, "Paradise"
• St. John Chrysostom, "Homilies on Genesis"
• St. Augustine, "On the Literal Meaning of Genesis"
• St. Thomas Aquinas, "Summa Theologiae"
• The Service for Representing Adam (The Play of Adam)
• Christine de Pizan, "Letter of the God of Love"
• Kramer & Sprenger, "Malleus Maleficarum"
• Isotta Nogarolla, "Of the Equal or Unequal Sins of Adam and Eve"
• Martin Luther, "Lectures on Genesis"
• John Calvin, "Commentaries on the First Book of Moses Called Genesis"
• Aemelia Lanyer, "Eve's Apology in Defense of Women"
• Margaret Fell, "Women's Speaking, Justified, Proved, and Allowed by Scriptures"

Focus not just on the specific ways in which the stories of Eve differ but also on the effect and meaning of those differences. Keep in mind that your essay should have a clear and distinct thesis, a central idea about the depiction of Eve that you have drawn from your close study and comparison of the texts.

As noted on the course homepage, your paper should follow the MLA style for formatting and for quotation and citation.