Eve, the first woman

The Book of Genesis begins with the story of creation, and of the first humans, Adam and Eve. After the creation of Adam, Genesis describes how Eve was formed from one of Adam’s ribs while he was sleeping. 

In the story, Eve then became Adam’s wife, and they lived in the Garden of Eden. Famously, however, Adam and Eve did not stay faithful to God. Eve was tempted by the Devil, symbolised by a snake, to disobey God by eating the forbidden fruit. She then shared the fruit with her husband. After their sin, the pair were expelled from the Garden of Eden.

Eve has often got the sole blame for bringing sin and death into the world. However, while the New Testament says that Eve was deceived by the Devil, it actually places the blame for the Fall on Adam. In his Letter to the Romans, St Paul wrote that “sin entered the world as the result of one man.” (Romans 5:12; cf 2 Corinthians 11:3)

The Book of Wisdom (10:1) says that Adam was delivered from his sin. Did Eve also have a change of heart? It would seem so. She believed her sons to be gifts from God, which implies her belief in his goodness (Genesis 4:1,25). And her sons Cain and Abel worshipped God, which strongly suggests that she brought them up to be religious (Genesis 4:3-5). 

Genesis says that after they had left Eden, Eve became the mother of the first family. As well as Cain, Abel and Seth, Eve had other sons and daughters with Adam (Genesis 5:4). In Hebrew, her name means ‘life’, which is appropriate since she also became the mother of the whole human race (Genesis 3:20 cf Tobit 8:6).

In Catholic teaching, Eve is viewed as a counterpart to the Virgin Mary. St Paul compared Adam with Christ: “For since death came into the world through a man, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a man. Just as in Adam all die, so all will be brought to life in Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)

In a similar way, Mary has been traditionally compared and contrasted with Eve, using the saying Eva/Ave (Latin for Eve/Hail as in ‘Hail Mary’). While Eve was led astray by a wicked angel, Mary was visited by the Angel Gabriel. Eve disobeyed God, while Mary obeyed him. And while Eve’s actions led to the fall of the human race, Mary’s actions contributed to its salvation. 

The stained glass window is of Eve after she sinned in the Garden of Eden. Found within Corpus Christ, in Brixton, it’s part of a series of windows picturing Old Testament women who were parallels of the Virgin Mary. The stained glass was designed by the neo-Gothic revivalist John Francis Bentley and dates to the late 1890s.

See the full image:

Where to find this work of art
Corpus Christi, Brixton