Thus Saith Eve: Satellites Out of Orbit, #1

By Chris Wind

Eve should be blamed for choosing the apple? For choosing knowledge over obedience? Knowledge of good and evil? She thinks not. Mary insists she be recognized for who she is--the mother of God. And, well, you can imagine what Noah's wife had to say about his grand idea.

Nineteen epistles in all. Not only good reading, but also well-suited for auditions.

"A truly wonderful source of feminist fiction. In addition to being an extremely enjoyable and thought provoking read, the monologues can also be used for audition and performance pieces. …" Katie M. Deaver, feminismandreligion.com

• Language: English
• Publisher: Magenta
• Release date: Sep 3, 2011
• ISBN: 9781926891057

Chris Wind

chris wind has degrees in Literature, Education, and Philosophy. Her poetry has been published in Alpha, The Antigonish Review, Ariel, Atlantis, Bite, Bogg, Canadian Author and Bookman, Canadian Dimension, Canadian Woman Studies, Contemporary Verse 2, The Free Verse Anthology, Girlistic Magazine, grain, Interior Voice, Kola, Mamashee, The New Quarterly, Next Exit, Onionhead, Poetry Toronto, Prism International, Rampike, Shard, The University of Toronto Review, The Wascana Review, Whetstone, White Wall Review, Women's Education des femmes, and three anthologies (Clever Cats, ed. Ann Dubras; Going for Coffee, ed. Tom Wayman; Visions of Poesy, ed. Dennis Gould). "Luncheon on the Grass" was the motive poem for an exhibit by Brooks Bercovitch and Colton at the Galerie Schorer, Montreal (1998). Her prose has been read on CBC Radio and published in ACT, Alpha, American Atheist, The Antigonish Review, Canadian Woman Studies, event, Existere, (f.)Lip, Herizons, Herstoria, The Humanist, Humanist in Canada, Hysteria, The New Quarterly, Other Voices, Secular Nation, and Waves. Her theatrical works have been performed by 27th Letter (UK), Creative Curve (UK), Venus Theatre (US),  Laurel Theater, Alumnae Theatre, Theatre Resource Center, Theatre Asylum, Buddies in Bad Times, and A Company of Sirens (all in Canada). chris wind has received thirteen Ontario Arts Council Writers' Reserve grants based on publisher and theatre recommendation. chris wind was a panellist at the Canadian National Feminist Poetry Conference (Winnipeg, 1992), and featured in an article in The Montreal Gazette (1994). Lastly, chris wind is listed in "Who's Who in Hell" (probably because of "Faith," "The Great Jump-Off," and Thus Saith Eve).

Book preview

THUS SAITH EVE

chris wind

Smashwords Edition

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Published on Smashwords by:

Thus Saith Eve

Copyright 1991, 2011 by chris wind

www.chriswind.net

Cover concept and design by chris wind

Formatting and layout design by Elizabeth Beeton

wind, chris

Thus Saith Eve / chris wind

ISBN 978-1-926891-05-7

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

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also by chris wind

UnMythed

Deare Sister

Soliloquies: The Lady Doth Indeed Protest

Snow White Gets Her Say

Satellites Out of Orbit*

Particivision and other stories

Paintings and Sculptures

Excerpts

dreaming of kaleidoscopes

Thus Saith Eve is available in print as part of chris wind’s Satellites Out of Orbit (2nd edition), titled Epistles.

* Satellites Out of Orbit contains the four books listed above it as well as this book.

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A performance version of I am Eve (notes for theatrical delivery of the text as a monologue set to an audio collage which can be heard at www.chriswind.net—see The Art of Juxtaposition) is available from the author ([e-mail]). I am Mary, Mother of God is available as an audio piece on the same album.

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Acknowledgements

I am Mary, of Bethany Secular Nation 2008

I am Mary, Mother of God Secular Nation 2008

I am Zipporah Humanist May/Jun 2000, vol.60 no.3; Humanist in Canada Spring 1995

I am Noah’s Wife Humanist in Canada Spring 1997; Other Voices Fall 1989, vol.2 no.2

I am Eve Humanist in Canada Winter 1993/94

I am Eshta Humanist in Canada Spring 1993

I am Sheba Humanist in Canada Winter 1992/93

I am Delilah Humanist in Canada Jul/Sep 1992

An earlier version of Thus Saith Eve appeared as I am in the first edition of Satellites Out of Orbit.

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CONTENTS

Eve

Lilith

Abel

Cain’s wife

Noah’s wife

Hagar

Zipporah

the certain woman

Delilah

Eshta

Ruth

The Queen of Sheba

Vashti

Judith

Mary, mother of God

Mary, of Bethany

Mary Magdalen

Thecla

Satan

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Appendix

All of the women in Thus Saith Eve are from The Bible, a book central to Judaeo-Christianity, the main religious tradition of ‘western civilization’. Lilith is the one exception; she comes from other Jewish mythology.

There is an appendix at the end of the book containing, for each piece, a summary of the story as told in The Bible, relevant Biblical references, and references to material which contradicts or extends or questions the story, some of which I used when writing the pieces.

All references to The Bible are to The Holy Bible, King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc., 1977.

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I am Eve

the bad girl, the evil woman.

I stand accused, and sentenced. Without a trial. For life.

Because of my single action, millions of individuals have been born with ‘original sin’, have been guilty even before they acted, doomed before they started. I alone have been held responsible[1] for this sad and pathetic fallen race. Therefore, let me begin by correcting this: if I were free not to fall in the first place, they were free not to fall after me; and if I were not free, then I can’t be held responsible—for my fall or theirs.

Now, let us further examine the charges, let us correctly define that action.

I have been condemned for choosing knowledge over ignorance: the fruit I ate came from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In a society that praises pursuit of knowledge and honours men of wisdom, why have I been viewed with disfavour? Had Adam reached out first, would he have been so rebuked? Or is the state of ignorance requisite for women only? (Histories pass on Socrates, they pass over Aspasia.)

In the same vein, I chose experience over innocence. In a context of attitudes that value experience, the disapproval of my action can only imply the desire that women, like children, live in a state of

Reviews for Thus Saith Eve

[amanda4242_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The narrators in Thus Saith Eve all sound like whiny adolescents. Definitely not worth the twenty minutes it took to read. Received via Member Giveaway.

[dubiousdisciple · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This little book finally gives the women of the Bible license to speak, and speak they do! A cantankerous bunch on the whole, yet their contributions (as true as they may be) left me ROFLing. Our Bible, I’m now convinced, is much the poorer for its women being silenced.There are nineteen chapters, nineteen women in all who get to have their say. Technically speaking, only fifteen of the nineteen speakers are “women of the Bible.” Two are extra-canonical, one is a dastardly angel (we call “her” Satan), and one is … well, I was equally astonished to learn that Abel, son/daughter of Adam, also made the feminine list. Can’t say I didn’t learn anything from this book.My favorite was Noah’s wife. Poor thing, with a ship the size of the football field to clean, and animal excrement everywhere. Yet, she seems quite able to hold her own, and as she rightly points out, if the whole creation was destroyed by a flood, then she is mother to us all. (What she leaves unsaid is whether or not Adam is the father of us all … hmmm.)Short, but definitely entertaining … and serious between the lines.