Second Eve: An Analysis of the Relationship Between Mary and Eve in Christian Theology and Its Representation in Painting Works

 
 
 
 
Although human culture is dynamic and changing, it is always deeply influenced by the fundamental structures and constructions of ancient symbolic-semiotic systems, including religions. One of the symbolic-semiotic patterns that can be found in almost all religions and mythological systems of cultures and nations is the story of the beginning of human life on earth, which is called the story of creation (Genesis creation narrative). One of the perspectives of examining the stories of creation is the images and ideas related to each of the two human sexes; In these myths, sometimes the beginning of human life begins with the first father or mother. These images have profoundly affected the symbolic-semiotic system of the relations between the two sexes and in different dimensions, they promote certain ideas about the human value and the characteristics of each of the two sexes and postponing sins and wickedness or victimhood. The narrative of the scriptures about the history of the first couple forms a framework for the knowledge of the two sexes and their relationship with God and each other, which can be referred to as the theology of sexuality. Christianity has been specifically studied from this point of view, and many Christian and non-Christian thinkers have commented on this aspect of its theology. One of the most frequent themes in these studies is the role of Eve in the temptation of Adam and the occurrence of the original sin and their departure from heaven, which has left its mark in the long history of Christian theology, culture, and art. Concerning the status of women in Christianity, if we focus only on the tempting and evil role of Eve in the story of creation, and do not regard the position that Christian theology has given to Eve as the mediator of human salvation, the general image of women in this religion is often drawn as an evil, negative and inferior one. This is where it is necessary to explore the theme of "Mary as the second Eve" which states if Eve was the cause of Adam's departure from heavenly bliss and brought with her death and all the difficulties of worldly life, Mary as the mother of Christ, or "the second Adam", became the mediator of human salvation and eternal life and the establishment of God's kingdom. This theme has had a serious reflection in the works of Christian paintings, and its common image is the presence of the Virgin Mary, who has the tempting serpent of the story of Eve under her feet.
The main question of this research is: What relationship has Christian theology established between Mary and Eve and how is this relationship represented in paintings? Addressing this question is necessary because it gives a complete picture of the dignity and position of women in theology and Christian culture and art; An image that is not like Eve of the Old Testament, a secondary and evil character, nor like Mary, holy and savior. This image reflects the two voices of the Christian culture about women and can pave the way for comparative studies with other cultures, including Islam, concerning the place of women.
The method of this research is historical-analytical, and the data collection was done by searching the documents and works in the libraries and art collections. This study is divided into two main parts. In the first part, which examines the relationship between Eve and Saint Mary in the sources of the Old Testament and the New Testament, the analysis and description is carried out on a micro level because the problem under study belongs to a large structure in both axes, and there are basic similarities between the composition of the structure and the functions of its elements. In the second part, the existence of a common root in the main sources under study and attributing elements of artistic images to theological themes and concepts cause the carried-our comparison to be classified as a genealogical type. The samples of paintings selected and analyzed in this research were also selected from European art, especially from the works of German and Italian painters during the last six centuries, that is, from the fifteenth to twenty-first centuries. In terms of history, these paintings are examples of the period of the art of these six centuries and belong to famous artists.
This research can be considered innovative because, firstly, it is the first Persian research that independently deals with the theme of Maryam being the second Eve, and secondly, despite the research mentioned in the background, which either focuses on the interpretation of this theme in theology or on its manifestation in one or two specific works of art, in the present study in addition to its genealogy in the sacred texts and interpretations, its manifestation in the paintings of the past six centuries is also included.
This research comes to the conclusion that: the theme of "Eve as the second Mary " is deeply rooted and repeated both in Christian theology and abundantly reflected in the art of Christian painting. Depicting Mary as the opposite of Eve is the main element of this theme: Eve is tempting, naked, and disobedient, but Mary is a virgin, covered and submissive; With her sin, Eve brings death to the human race, and Mary is the conduit of immortality and life; Eve hears the word of the devil and drags man down, but Mary becomes pregnant with the word of God and brings man to the kingdom. Eve is the concubine of the serpent as a representative of the devil and steals the apple by his deceit, but Maryam tramples the serpent under her feet and is the savior. But this theme, as can be seen in some paintings that take Mary to the time of Eve in the Garden of Eden and next to the forbidden tree and depict Eve as a symbol of temptation and remorselessness, does not portray Eve as negative at all, and at least from the point of view of some analysts of Christian art, there are other elements, especially in some paintings that bring Eve to the time of Mary, who is now a mighty queen and holds her savior child in her arms and has become the mother of the living and in a way has caused the salvation of Eve.
The fact that some have claimed that the character of Eve in Christian theology is represented more negatively compared to Jewish theology, is probably derived from her comparison with the incomparable dignity of Mary, thus placing the first Eve in the opposite of the second Eve, who is a noble and all-good character, creates a polarity in which Eve appears completely negative and evil.  If the term "Mother of the Living" was born to describe Maryam (PBUH), the term "Mother of the Dead" should have been born for her opposite, and who could be the bearer of this term better than Eve? Also, according to Christian theology, if the first Eve became Adam's Satan, then Mary was the mother and nurturer of Jesus (PBUH) in the body of the second Eve, as some Christian commentators interpret Jesus as the second Adam. In other words, in a more radical analysis, the first and second Eve of each of these two female characters is in the shadow of the first and second Adam, one of whom provides the cause of the fall, and the other initiates salvation by giving birth. Therefore, the birth of the interpretation of Eve the First and the Second is drawn due to the companionship of each of the women next to the prominent men next to them.