DECONSTRUCTING BOUNDARIES BETWEEN ANIMALS AND HUMANS. THE SERPENT IN THE GREEK LIFE OF ADAM AND EVE
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Babeș-Bolyai University / Cluj University Press
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Scholars have proposed various explanations to the puzzling conversation between the serpent and Eve, between an animal and a human in the narrative of the Fall and in the Greek Life of Adam and Eve. I argue here that a Derridean reading highlights the ways the narrative deconstructs the boundary between human and animal. I explore the similarity between the human and the serpent both in terms of appearance (an upright posture and limbs, being “furless”), and abilities (voice, speech, and reason, fear of God). I discuss the identity and specific features of the serpent, focusing on the similarities and differences between human and the serpent, implied in the rewritten narrative of the Fall, in the dialogue between Eve and the serpent, and the episode of the punishment.
Article history: Received 03.05.2025; Revised 05.05.2025; Accepted 15.05.2025.Available online: 26.06.2025. Available print: 30.07.2025