The public's unending fascination with the Garden of Eden is not lost on John. He places these dolls into very realistic tableaus to try to re-create the drama and unbearable sexual tension of the early days of Mankind. Note how he poses Eve as a Temptress beckoning the weak-willed Adam towards Sin.
Bible Reading: Genesis 3
6: And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7: And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Below you can see the actual tools and materials John used to make his "Fig Newton Aprons". You can also ponder a fascinating Bible Study Question that suggests there may be a link between the Garden of Eden and today's hottest female fashions!
John's Midrash
Today I will try to explicate the wonderful passage in Genesis in which Adam and Eve have eaten from the Tree of Knowledge and immediately become ashamed of their nakedness. I am particularly gripped by the idea of these two souls trying to create aprons from figs. As a Bible studier and a step grandfather to two little girls, I see this moment not only as the origin of sexual guilt but also as the invention of the field of fashion.
Perhaps to be able to identify more fully with Adam and Eve, I decided to see if I too could fashion an apron from figs. I borrowed several Fig Newtons from the mother of one of my step granddaughters and set to work. I was in a very good mood at the time, had access to several nails of different gauges to use as sewing needles, twine for thread, and of course, an almost limitless supply of Newtons. Still, I found the work quite challenging. My first apron, worn by Adam in the illustrations, badly crumbled, as you can clearly see. It took me quite a while to get a really excellent apron, which I used to clothe Eve.
But if the work was difficult for me, I can only imagine how hard it must have been for Adam and Eve as they struggled to create their own aprons. First of all, they probably were in horrible moods, their faces crimson with humiliation, Adam was no doubt extremely angry at having been tricked by Eve into eating from the forbidden fruit. They had been immortal up until that point and now Adam realized that he was going to die and had only about 900 years left before he’d go back to being dirt again. And where would they get sewing needles, rope, figs? My own experience showed me that figs are not a terrific fabric. And there is one other factor that must have come into play. If truth be told, after eating from that Apple, the last thing either one of them probably wanted to do was to get dressed, if you know what I mean.
And while this moment in Biblical history may have been the first step in the development of Victoria’s Secret, it does lead to a particularly troubling moral question. It is generally not considered a good idea to leave children alone in a room with lots of toys and a loaded gun and just tell them that they can play with anything but the gun or they will die. It would be even worse if the kids don’t know what death is. It would be worse still if you knew there was another kid in the room known to be a bad influence, with a reputation for egging on bad behavior. But that is essentially what God did to Adam and Eve. Do anything you want, but don’t eat from the Tree of Knowledge or you will die (how bad could that be?). And would it have been so hard for God to have maybe given them a heads up about the Serpent? If Adam and Eve were total innocents, how could Eve not have trusted what the Serpent told her? All in all, the God of Genesis 3 comes off as just a tad irresponsible in this Bible Studier’s opinion.