Short paper on Reinventing Eden by Carpolyn Merchant Essay

Short paper on Reinventing Eden by Carpolyn Merchant - Essay Example This study is to discern specifically the shifting attitudes to the concept of â€Å"wilderness† in western culture, and some issues concerning the labeling of â€Å"wild†, as well as its advantages and disadvantages that have been produced by it. â€Å"Internalized by Europeans and Americans alike since seventeenth century, this story has propelled countless efforts by human to recover Eden by turning wilderness into garden, female nature into civilized society, and indigenous folkways into modern culture.† Wilderness according to her can be compared to the nature of a female. A female’s emotional nature is unpredictable. It could be serene for a time but can also be overly sensitive and sometimes even raging. Thus the kind of characteristic is not ideal to apply in physical environment if habitant is seeking the likeness of â€Å"Eden†. Merchant used this message to educate the readers with the importance of the civilization and organization even in a natural environment. Perhaps, she has been implying that the uniqueness of the Garden of Eden among other gardens was its cultured and organized system, as Biblically speaking the Garden of Eden was tended first hand by our Creator. In further discussion her argument within the context revealed to be that the wilderness she’s implying doesn’t mean to be in natural aspect. The results of wilderness were actually pertaining to the man made attempt for civilization but is environmentally and socially destructive, if not compatible with its habitants. The effect of this wilderness brought by man’s frequent attempt to recreate Eden in technical state has delivered the once fertile earth into a phallocentric state. This is a great decline from once pristine Eden state of the earth. The effect extent up to the lifestyle of men, from their habitation state up to the very food they are eating, which is far from the natural essence of