Commentary on "The Diary of Adam and Eve"

Like all of  Twain’s other works we’ve read so far, “The Diary of Adam and Eve” plunges us into a world of irony, interpretation, and layered meaning, forcing us, or rather, allowing us to find significance and a multitude of perspectives from the text. As we have discussed, Twain held great store in satire often manifesting itself in critiques of the many practices and belief systems held sacred by society in his time.

 There are elements of satire found within this story, namely the exaggeration of male and female stereotyping. This component grabbed my attention almost immediately; Adam thinking of Eve as somewhat vain, “she fell in the pond yesterday when she was looking at herself in it, which she is always doing” (Twain 276) and Eve making assumptions about Adams intelligence, believing “he is not bright, and is sensitive about it and wishes to conceal it.” (Twain 286) These type of assumptions made by him and her respectively, could possibly also be a commentary on the many ways men and women misunderstand each other. Adam thinks Eve is being vain by staring at herself in the water, when in reality she has no idea she is look at herself and is merely finding comfort and solace in the reflection she perceives to be a friend while she in turn has difficulty understanding the lack of fear felt by Adam during his excursions into the falls.

There are many differences that go unreconciled and although both stereotyping and misunderstanding are themes heavily emphasized in the text, what really struck chords for me, and what I really want to discuss, is the possibility that hints of sincerity can be found within the text, most often in Twain's portrayal of Eve herself. Honestly it took participating in the class discussion for me to put my finger on what felt different about this text versus others we’ve read because reading the Diary didn’t leave me feeling the way I do after reading most of Twain’s stories. I do think there is irony in his portrayal of Eve and that cannot be ignored, but at the same time I really think there are some moments where a truly sincere and somewhat beautiful tone prevails, shining through the irony and representing Eve as a wondrous creature, a namer of names, a curious and intuitive being, and an artist in her creation of fire through poetry, “soon brilliant yellow and red flares shot up through the smoke, and I named them in an instant- flames –and I was right too, though these were the very first flames that had ever been in the world. They climbed the trees, they flashed splendidly in and out of the vast and increasing volume of tumbling smoke, and I had to clap my hands and laugh and dance in my rapture, it was so new and strange and so wonderful and so beautiful! (Twain 289) It is in that moment where I saw that spark of earnestness, and maybe that is MY own naivete but could this be an instance where Twain is not merely satirizing Eve’s love of beauty and instead commending her on her marvelous creation and her appreciation for it? And what about the very last line? When Adam remarks, “Wheresoever she was, there was Eden.” (Twain 295) could this not be him genuinely speaking of his love and appreciation for Eve and all that she was? These things I cannot ignore and I do believe that there is at least one layer of this story meant to be viewed with sincerity. 

Works Cited:

Twain, Mark.  The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain. Ed. Charles Neider. New                   York: Bantam Classic, 1957. Print.