East of Eden

 

I finally read John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden almost 70 years after it was published in 1952.  It is a long book (600 pages), and at times I got bogged down in some of the sub-plots, but I stuck with it as it was considered by Steinbeck himself as some of his best writing.  I was fascinated with the main theme and my attention was drawn to the Hebrew word Timshel.  

In my Cristian formation in the Lutheran tradition, I was taught about the importance of free will.  After all is said about good and evil and God’s love, we humans do have a choice.  We can accept God’s love, but we can also reject it.  What’s more we have the capacity to choose between good and evil. 

The most intriguing character in the novel for me is Lee, Adam Trask’s loyal Chinese servant. Lee acts as the novel’s philosophical and common sense compass. The Biblical story of Cain and Abel and the struggle humans have with good and evil is central to the story.

It seems like Steinbeck uses this character to develop his own thinking about what he called the “most profound question in the world”.  Lee takes the story of Cain and Abel to a group of wise old Chinese scholars for their take on it’s meaning and reports back:

“Don’t you see? The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin, and you can call sin ignorance. The King James translation makes a promise in “Thou shalt,” meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel–‘Thou mayest’–that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’–it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.’ Don’t you see?”

One reviewer of the book, Dolly Doyle, wrote:

“The title East of Eden is a reference to the story of Cain and Abel. After killing his brother in a fit of jealous rage, Cain is condemned to a lifetime of wandering by God. In Genesis 4:16, Cain is described as going "east of Eden" into the land of Nod.

The direct references to the Cain and Abel story do not end with the title. Both sets of brothers featured in the book—Charles and Adam, and Aron and Caleb—mirror Cain and Abel (the latter pair are even named after them). Cain and Abel are typically viewed as opposites: Cain is treacherous and evil, while Abel is virtuous and good. Similarly, such dualism is suggested in the relationships between the two sets of brothers, though Steinbeck complicates the idea that one brother is good while the other is evil every time by emphasizing the importance of choice in moral action and the possibility of redemption for those who have done evil things in the past.”

 

Steinbeck tries to point out that the free will to make choices, which God has given to humans, means that though we will not be able to overcome original sin, we may decide to ask for forgiveness and that redemption is possible for everyone. There is plenty of evil depicted in the story, especially in the character of Kate, the mother of the twin boys Caleb and Aron. Is there even redemption for her?

This is a book I would love to discuss with a book club, but I doubt there are enough recent readers of it to form a group.  The movie of East of Eden, with James Dean, came out in 1956. I have not seen it but plan to and will probably be disappointed.

It is fascinating to find that the English folk rock group Mumford and Sons wrote a song directly inspired by John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden.  The song Timshel refers to the Cain and Abel account as an important symbol in East Of Eden's storyline.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8D7MLsNAb8