‘If you hate Lilith, you hate honesty’

Shinie Antony’s new book introduces readers to an under-represented character, a she-demon, a villainess and a fiery voice who demanded equality of the sexes in Biblical times

First there was Adam, then came Eve. They lived together in the fantastical garden of Eden until that fateful day when the devil in the form of the snake tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and they were banished from paradise as they had sinned.

This Biblical story about the first humans on Earth is common knowledge to many. However, journalist-author Shinie Antony’s new title Eden Abandoned: The Story of Lilith (Hachette) seeks to throw light on the woman who finds mention in some ancient texts and versions of the Bible as the first wife of Adam, before Eve. “She is barely there in the scriptures, and is mostly in doggerels and morality tales. There are many texts, seventh century onwards that mention her: Gilgamesh, Talmud, Ben Sira, Genesis 1, the Hebrew Bible; there’s also the fantasy novel by George MacDonald. She has many cameos, all of them scary. She is the White Witch’s mom in CS Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, in a poem by Vladimir Nabokov, in a 19th century short story by Judith Plaskow Goldenberg, and inspired the Jewish feminist magazine, Lilith,” reveals Antony about the subject of her riveting take of a rage-filled, intriguing villainess’, she reminds, “In the end though, Lilith tells her own story; her mouth at our ear.”

Shinie Antony. Pic Courtesy/Srivatsa Shandilya

Excerpts from an interview:

Why did you decide to tell Lilith’s story? Was there a trigger?
Bad girls are exciting, they upsy-daisy our sense of self. Are they ‘bad’ or are we just good hypocrites? When Manju Kapur wrote Difficult Daughters, the word ‘difficult’ grew new meanings, it began to include emotional honesty. Lilith found me at the right time, when I could understand her hunger for equality, her hunt for the mythical New Man. The trigger for this book is Lilith herself. I squarely blame her.

Lilith’s evolution into a bada*s she-demon is the heartbeat of the book, with high levels of rage and sexual energy. At any point, was there a conflict in your mind about her trajectory?
Ha ha, not for a moment. I was with her all the way. The rage she expresses is the evolution of humanity; it is her saying something is not right. More than ire or lust, i=t is about real estate. Does Earth belong to only one gender? Lilith demands her spot. Which is not next to a man, but just the ground she stands on. If you hate Lilith, you hate honesty. 

At its core, your book is about women who dare to express themselves, and the challenges they face. If Lilith was alive today, would she have reacted similarly in her relationships, including with Adam?
Intelligence is not confined to a specific era. All women — whatever the role they assume sociologically — come to a point in life where they feel betrayed. By the system, by kith and kin, by a beloved; falling for the wrong man is what unites all women. There is a Lilith in everyone. When one feels I am done, I can’t take this sh*t anymore. We all reach that historic moment when we first learn to pronounce the word ‘no’.  

Did your process, your craft as a writer undergo a change by the time you reached the end of writing this book?
I have always found it necessary for the character to take over. I am not a writer so much as a journalist keying in the story. In my earlier book, The Girl Who Couldn’t Love, I enjoyed Rudrakshi Sen’s child-like trust in revenge, her absolute lack of fear in torching down her enemies. Lilith bypassed me frequently to address readers herself.  

The chapter numbers are in reverse sequence. Why?
Lilith appeared to me all wise and wonderful; she was already a realised soul. She did not come twittering to me as Adam’s blushing new bride. So, I had to tell her story backwards. From how she is now to how she used to be.

Available: Leading bookstores and e-stores

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