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The declared subject of my article is Eve and the accusation levelled at her of having brought sin and death into the world. Has she been maligned? Is she guilty, though not alone in her responsibility, of introducing the evil of sin into the world? I would like to invite you to broach the text as you would a literary master-piece, rather than as an object for historical analysis, to listen to it, as you might listen to a piece of music, to be aware of its wholeness and to be receptive to its suggestiveness: I will allot myself the role of music-lover, who wishes to share what she hears. If, in the end, you feel that there is a possible shift of emphasis from the importance of being to the importance of becoming, from an absorption with right and wrong to a celebration of growth, our time will not have been wasted. My concern will be to follow Eve, observing her as she comes to be, and so setting her free of judgmental definitions that lock her in a given position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]