When word first came out that Netflix was doing a reboot of East of Eden there was a collective gasp. No, not that one. Please don’t ruin this masterpiece of literature by turning it into a feminist screed that redeems the evil female character Cathy. I can’t know for sure that this reboot, or as one of the commenters called it, this “fresh pull” will redeem or explain or make us sympathize with Cathy. But what does it matter anyway? It’s like a hurricane. Sooner or later, it will arrive.
Whether it’s East of Eden or not, it does look like a compelling watch. Netflix must be now viewed with some skepticism or at least hesitation when it comes to the classics. Look what they did to Little House on the Prairie, for instance.
This comment exchange illustrates the nervousness around the release (although, let’s be honest, does anyone really care all that much anymore? They scroll, they click, they watch).
What I know about the modern day cultural Left is that they’re resentful of the past takes on women as evil. The Odyssey, for instance, has rewritten the female characters in an attempt to absolve them from any blame. That’s to be expected considering how our culture has evolved over the past 15 years, taking us all the way to mass psychosis of the Lindsay Clancy trial, where a mother can’t even be held accountable for strangling her three children.
I asked Google AI for a summary of the character Cathy in the book. I will comment on the things I know the woke folks would reject or at least attempt to untangle, dismantle, explain, excuse. A woman as the embodiment of evil would not be welcome. Here are my predictions but I could be wrong. We’ll find out October 1.
- Born with no empathy, kindness, or conscience. (they will disput this)
- Displayed cruel and destructive habits from an early age. (probably only because someone, a man, hurt her, molested her, assaulted her)
- Burned down her family home, likely killing her parents. (but understandable, right, considering the patriarchy?
- Drove a high school teacher to suicide after manipulating him. (But he was probably a pervert and he got what he deserved)
- Worked in prostitution and was beaten nearly to death by a pimp named Mr. Edwards. (this will remain unchanged)
- Crawled to the doorstep of Adam and Charles Trask after her beating.
- Married Adam Trask and moved to Salinas, California, to start a family.
- Shot Adam and abandoned him shortly after giving birth to twin boys, Cal and Aron.
- Became a prostitute in a Salinas brothel, then poisoned and robbed the madam, Faye, to take over the business.
- Ran a powerful, corrupt house through blackmail and extortion.
- Lived reclusively as she grew old and frail.
- Died by suicide using a morphine overdose after a brief encounter with her grown son Aron. (she won’t have a happy ending, but will die a martyr, I’m guessing)
- Represents a dark version of the biblical Eve. (and the idea of an Eve has been rejected as misgyonist long ago)
- Embodies innate, unchangeable evil, contrasting with other characters who struggle with the choice between good and evil (timshel). (She will be absolved of this because it won’t be her fault. They will explain why she is the way she is.)
I could be very wrong. I hope I am. I don’t feel the need to redeem every female character ever written. Allowing women to be real villains or just plain bad makes them far more interesting than explaining to us why they’re like this. Lifetime movies succeed, as badly made as they are, for this reason. Female villains don’t have to be explained.
Beyond that, though, it looks pretty good!
