The Misconstrued Tale of the Lilith in Modern Feminism
The myth of the Lilith explains that there once was a she-demon that was every mans nightmare: a perpetually angry, man-hating, baby-murdering succubus. According to Jewish folklore, before there was an Adam and Eve, there was an Adam and Lilith. Cast from the same dust as Adam, Lilith believed that they both were equal and refused to submit herself to Adam and his sexual requests. After constant clashing with Adam, she fled the Garden of Eden to eternally fly around the world and spread her hate of mankind. Like most of the pre-18th century world, I found it easy to draw a cohesive interpretation from the tales: A malevolent demon reeking of anarchy, seduction and ungodliness. I immediately…show more content… Before science was prevalent, myths were used to explain phenomena that were not easily understood. For example, churches often saw nocturnal emissions as sinful and eventually the tale evolved to fault Lilith for this. The saying went on to say that as one would sleep the wicked demon would reproduce more demons by copulating with a man in his dream and in turn, causing nocturnal emissions. Thus, concept of Lilith quickly shifted from an unassuming tale to a scapegoat for misogyny. Along with the fact that she refused to lay with Adam, elements of hate, fear and misogyny were common throughout the tale’s history. One could even go so far as to say the shame placed on Lilith led to a heightened acceptance of misogyny. As time went on though, masculine and feminine roles became redefined and ultimately led to a different view of the same demonic…show more content… Feminism is a wonderful movement characterized by combating the cultural and social inequalities. In a society that has been patriarchal since its conception, to finally be able to promote equality across genders shows true progress of humanity. On the other hand, I believe that the projection of Lilith as a feminist figure is neither consistent with the philosophy of the movement nor the Lilith’s original ideology. Inspired by her fight for freedom with Adam, only recently did she become the female symbol for autonomy, sexual choice, and control of one’s own destiny by the feminist movement. Latched on to the fact that she refused to be submissive to Adam’s sexual needs, many feminists fail to realize the historical context of her actions. She was meant to be the physical embodiment of evil, and denying Adam showed an almost blasphemous act. Historically speaking, the Lilith as a demon who kills newborns pre-dates the medieval account of Lilith as the rebellious wife of Adam. Many look past her blatant vampirism and baby killing, instead trying to distort her actions as to fit their political