"Such a little story to have made so deep a wound"

Part 4 of an 8-part series on East of Eden.
Today's newsletter covers Chapters 20-24.

With this section of the book, we arrive at a conversation about Genesis 4 – the Cain and Abel story. The story has been the backdrop throughout the novel, but now it's front and center as Samuel, Lee, and Adam actually read it together.

The context: Samuel visits Adam to convince him to finally name his two sons. Samuel takes Liza's mother's Bible with him since "there's no place for getting a good name like the Bible" (SCE, 254). Samuel mentions that the boys cannot receive their truly appropriate names – Cain and Abel. And that comment leads them to reading Genesis.

"Two stories have haunted us and followed us from the beginning," Samuel said. "We carry them along with us like invisible tails–the story of original sin and the story of Cain and Abel. And I don't understand either of them. I don't understand them at all but I feel them."

Their ensuing discussion about Genesis covers much theological territory.

First, sin and guilt. Lee notes, "We gather our arms full of guilt as though it were precious stuff. It must be that we want it that way." And Adam points out that we did not invent sin; we inherited it from our ancestors: "We are the children of our father. It means we aren't the first. It's an excuse, and there aren't enough excuses in the world." We are not the first or the last to feel guilty or to commit a sin. It's part of the human condition, but many of us like to carry our guilt around as a burden. Perhaps this is why Samuel remarks, "such a little story to have made so deep a wound" (SCE, 265).

Second, the perennial interpretive question about Genesis 4: Why did God accept Abel's offering and reject Cain's? It's an old question that theologians have speculated about for centuries. Lee argues that it's because Abel's offering is meat. Other (ancient) interpreters have suggested this possibility as well. Ultimately, the Genesis story does not provide an explicit reason. Samuel notes the detail that God does not, in fact, condemn Cain. God simply prefers Abel's offering. It is Cain's response of anger and violence that becomes the issue. It is true that God does not directly condemn Cain. But God did choose his brother's offering over his, and that may have felt like rejection. Is God's "choice" in this story merely a preference or a judgment?

Third, the mark of Cain. Adam thinks God branded Cain for the murder. In other words, Cain is marked as a murderer. But Samuel suggests it is a "preserving mark." It's a mark of grace. And he adds that we are Cain's children. Genesis does seem to present a reason for the mark: so that no one will kill Cain. But it's still a mark.

Fourth, Lee suggests why this story is so powerful.

"I think this is the best-known story in the world because it is everybody's story. I think it is the symbol story of the human soul. I'm feeling my way now – don't jump on me if I'm not clear. The greatest terror a child can have is that he is not loved, and rejection is the hell he fears. I think everyone in the world to a large or small extent has felt rejection. And with rejection comes anger, and with anger some kind of crime in revenge for the rejection, and with the crime guilt – and there is the story of mankind. I think that if rejection could be amputated, the human would not be what he is....Therefore I think this old and terrible story is important because it is a chart of the soul – the secret, rejected, guilty soul."

In the end, the boys are named Caleb and Aaron. Caleb was one of two people who made it from Egypt to the Promised Land. And Aaron? "Well, Aaron I've always liked, but he didn't make it to the Promised Land," says Samuel.

Oh my! Twins. One with an A name, the other with a C name. One makes it to the Land of Promise, the other doesn't.

Reading Schedule

Week of June 29-July 5: read chapters 25-30
Week of July 6-12: read chapters 31-39
Week of July 13-19: read chapters 40-48
Week of July 20-26: read chapters 49-55

A Benediction (Or Miscellaneous Thoughts)

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