From Instinct to Subjectivity: A Darwinian, Pasolinian, and Lacanian Reading of Adão e Eva no Paraíso

Darwinism, Eça de Queirós, Evolution, Genesis, Humanity, Ideology, Lacanian Psychoanalysis, Myth, Pasolini, Subjectivity 0 comments

Paradise, a perilous, inhospitable place

AI-generated picture by Prof. Jonathan Acuña Solano in May 2026

Introductory Note to the Reader

Literature often becomes a space where unresolved questions return to us in unexpected ways. My encounter with Eça de Queirós’s Adão e Eva no Paraíso was deeply connected to questions that have accompanied me since childhood. I was raised in a Catholic family and exposed early to Christian doctrine, biblical narratives, and the theological explanations surrounding the creation of humanity. Yet, even as a child, I frequently asked my mother uncomfortable questions about passages in the Bible that did not seem entirely clear to me. Some of those questions remained unanswered, suspended somewhere between faith and curiosity.

As I grew older, school opened my eyes in a broader intellectual sense. Science classes introduced me to the evolutionary theories of Charles Darwin, and the Book of Genesis, still lingering quietly in the back of my mind, resurfaced with renewed intensity. I began wondering how humanity could reconcile the sacred image of Adam and Eve with the scientific narrative of human evolution from ape-like ancestors to Homo sapiens sapiens. The tension between theology and evolution did not disappear; instead, it deepened into a lifelong reflection on origins, identity, and the human condition.

Years later, while visiting the museum at the University of Manchester with my wife, I encountered once again the haunting question of beginnings. In one of the museum’s rooms dedicated to human evolution, displays of Neanderthals, Cro-Magnons, and primates stood as silent witnesses to humanity’s ancestral past. Half humorously and half philosophically, I asked my wife to take a photograph of me standing beside my “ancestral family”: the Neanderthal man, the Cro-Magnon, and the gorilla. At the moment I read the short story, Queirós’s ironic and provocative narrative came vividly back to mind. Which of these figures was “our father Adam,” as Queirós refers to him in Adão e Eva no Paraíso?

Perhaps there are questions that never truly leave us. They linger quietly throughout our lives, resurfacing in literature, science, memory, and personal experience. They may never receive definitive answers, yet they continue to shape the way we read, think, and understand ourselves. This essay emerges from that lingering uncertainty: from the dialogue between faith and science, myth and evolution, childhood belief and adult reflection.

Jonathan Acuña Solano

From Instinct to Subjectivity: A Darwinian, Pasolinian, and Lacanian Reading of Adão e Eva no Paraíso

Abstract

This essay examines Eça de Queirós’s Adão e Eva no Paraíso through the theoretical perspectives of Charles Darwin, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Jacques Lacan. The study argues that Queirós transforms the biblical narrative of Genesis into a modern reflection on evolution, subjectivity, and ideological critique. Through a Darwinian lens, the story naturalizes human origins by portraying Adam and Eve as beings gradually emerging from instinct into consciousness. From a Pasolinian perspective, the narrative desacralizes myth and exposes the ideological structures embedded within religious and bourgeois moral systems. A Lacanian reading reveals the psychological dimensions of Adam and Eve’s awakening, particularly the emergence of desire, lack, and subjectivity. Special attention is given to symbolic episodes such as Adam’s descent from the tree, the encounter with the serpent, the killing of the bear, and the discovery of fire. By integrating literary analysis, psychoanalytic theory, and evolutionary thought, this essay demonstrates how Queirós reimagines the origins of humanity not as a divine certainty but as a complex and unresolved process marked by contradiction, curiosity, and existential tension.

Keywords:

Darwinism, Evolution, Genesis, Humanity, Ideology, Lacanian Psychoanalysis, Myth, Pasolini, Eça de Queirós, Subjectivity

Resumen

Este ensayo analiza Adão e Eva no Paraíso de Eça de Queirós desde las perspectivas teóricas de Charles Darwin, Pier Paolo Pasolini y Jacques Lacan. El estudio sostiene que Queirós transforma la narrativa bíblica del Génesis en una reflexión moderna sobre la evolución, la subjetividad y la crítica ideológica. Desde una perspectiva darwiniana, el relato naturaliza los orígenes humanos al presentar a Adán y Eva como seres que emergen gradualmente del instinto hacia la conciencia. Desde una lectura pasoliniana, la narración desacraliza el mito y expone las estructuras ideológicas presentes en los sistemas religiosos y morales burgueses. Por otra parte, una interpretación lacaniana revela las dimensiones psicológicas del despertar de Adán y Eva, especialmente la aparición del deseo, la carencia y la subjetividad. Se presta especial atención a episodios simbólicos como el descenso de Adán del árbol, el encuentro con la serpiente, la muerte del oso y el descubrimiento del fuego. Al integrar análisis literario, teoría psicoanalítica y pensamiento evolutivo, este ensayo demuestra cómo Queirós reimagina los orígenes de la humanidad no como una certeza divina, sino como un proceso complejo e irresuelto marcado por contradicción, curiosidad y tensión existencial.

Resumo

Este ensaio analisa Adão e Eva no Paraíso de Eça de Queirós a partir das perspectivas teóricas de Charles Darwin, Pier Paolo Pasolini e Jacques Lacan. O estudo argumenta que Queirós transforma a narrativa bíblica do Gênesis em uma reflexão moderna sobre evolução, subjetividade e crítica ideológica. Sob uma perspectiva darwinista, a narrativa naturaliza as origens humanas ao apresentar Adão e Eva como seres que emergem gradualmente do instinto para a consciência. A partir de uma leitura pasoliniana, o texto dessacraliza o mito e expõe as estruturas ideológicas presentes nos sistemas religiosos e morais burgueses. Já uma interpretação lacaniana revela as dimensões psicológicas do despertar de Adão e Eva, especialmente o surgimento do desejo, da falta e da subjetividade. O ensaio dedica atenção especial a episódios simbólicos como a descida de Adão da árvore, o encontro com a serpente, a morte do urso e a descoberta do fogo. Ao integrar análise literária, teoria psicanalítica e pensamento evolutivo, este estudo demonstra como Queirós reimagina as origens da humanidade não como uma certeza divina, mas como um processo complexo e irresoluto marcado por contradição, curiosidade e tensão existencial.

Introduction

In Adão e Eva no Paraíso, Portuguese writer Eça de Queirós offers a provocative reimagining of the biblical origin myth, replacing divine, supernatural creation with a gradual, almost accidental emergence of human awakening and consciousness. Rather than presenting Adam and Eve as fully formed beings placed in a sacred Eden, Queirós depicts them as proto-humans evolving within a hostile and ambiguous environment biblically labeled as Paradise. This narrative strategy situates the text at the intersection of scientific discourse, philosophical inquiry, and literary satire.

The story reflects the intellectual tensions of the nineteenth century, particularly the clash between religious creationism and evolutionary theory. As scholars have noted, the text stages a “dialogue between biblical and evolutionist perspectives” (Rodrigues, Morgado, Pereira, & Silva, 2017). Additionally, Dixon (2016) argues that Queirós reworks the Adam and Eve narrative through irony and secular reinterpretation, transforming the biblical myth into a modern reflection on human consciousness and cultural identity. This ambiguity allows the story to function simultaneously as parody and critique.

This essay argues that Queirós’s tale can be productively analyzed through three complementary frameworks: the evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin, the socio-cultural critique of Pier Paolo Pasolini, and the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan. Together, these perspectives illuminate the story’s exploration of human origins, subjectivity, and ideological construction.

Darwinian Evolution and the Naturalization of Myth

The most striking feature of Queirós’s narrative is its Darwinian framework. Based on the story’s narrative, Adam is not created in a moment of divine ordinance but emerges gradually from an animal-like state, from a sudden awakening that has him climb down a tree and wander who he is, echoing the evolutionary processes described in On the Origin of Species (Darwin, 1859). The story begins with Adam as a creature governed by instinct, living among trees and responding primarily to environmental stimuli. Then, his “rebirth” takes place abandoning the safety of the forest he lives in and then responding to his curiosity to quench his desire to learn about his surrounding environment.

Queirós symbolically marks the beginning of humanity through movement and perception. At one point, the narrator of the story describes Adam descending from the tree and observing the world around him:

“E Adão desceu lentamente da árvore...”
(“And Adam slowly descended from the tree...”)

This seemingly simple action carries profound symbolic weight in the story’s narrative. The descent from the tree represents a break from purely instinctive existence into a world of self-awareness and discernment. Adam’s movement toward the ground parallels the evolutionary transition from arboreal primates to upright hominids. At the same time, it marks the beginning of separation from nature and the emergence of reflective awareness.

Once Adam has set foot on the ground and moved away from the forest he has inhabited, he begins contemplating the horizon:

“Parou, e ficou olhando longamente para o horizonte...”
(“He stopped and remained staring at the horizon for a long time...”)

The horizon as an imagery device functions here as a metaphor for consciousness itself. Adam is no longer entirely absorbed in immediate survival; he is now projecting himself outward toward distance, possibility, and abstraction. Adam is starting to be mindful, but from a Darwinian perspective, this scene in the story signals the development of cognitive complexity beyond instinctual reaction.

Unlike the harmonious Eden of Genesis, Queirós’s paradise is dangerous and material. Nature is deadly and is filled with hunger, fear, storms, and predatory animals. This environment resembles Darwin’s “struggle for existence” rather than a divinely ordered sanctuary. Adam and Eve survive not because they are protected by God but because they gradually learn to adapt to the new circumstances that they are discovering every step of their awakening into “human beings.”

One of the story’s most radical moments occurs in the episode involving the serpent. Instead of the snake tempting Eve into sin, the narrative transforms the serpent into prey. Eve first observes it with curiosity:

“Eva contemplava a serpente com curiosidade inquieta...”
(“Eve contemplated the serpent with restless curiosity...”)

Then Adam captures and eats the reptile:

“Adão agarrou a serpente e devorou-a...”
(“Adam seized the serpent and devoured it...”)

This inversion of the biblical facts completely dismantles the theological structure of Genesis. The snake no longer symbolizes temptation or evil; instead, it becomes nourishment, just another prey. From a Darwinian perspective, this episode represents adaptation and survival rather than moral transgression. Humanity emerges not through disobedience but through engagement with material reality.

As Ernst Mayr (2001) argues, Darwinian evolution removes teleology (from the Greek telos (end) and logos (reason)) from nature. Likewise, Queirós removes divine intentionality from human origins. Humanity emerges contingently, through struggle and gradual awareness of their existence and their need to survive in a hazardous world. The narrator’s ironic precision in assigning dates (October 28) and stages to Adam’s awakening further parodies scientific attempts to impose certainty on the mystery of existence.

Pasolinian Critique: Myth, Ideology, and Bourgeois Illusion

From a Pasolinian perspective, Queirós’s story can be interpreted as a profound critique of ideological systems, particularly those rooted in bourgeois Christianity. Like Pasolini, Queirós does not merely reject myth; he reworks and desacralizes it to expose its historical and cultural function. Based on this idea of desacralization, Pasolini (1972) frequently used sacred narratives to reveal social contradictions, as seen in The Gospel According to St. Matthew. Similarly, Queirós transforms Genesis into a materialist narrative grounded in biological emergence rather than divine order. The “paradise” of the story is not transcendent but primitive, violent, and uncertain.

The snake episode especially exemplifies this Pasolinian inversion. Christianity traditionally presents the serpent as a metaphysical symbol of evil. Queirós, however, literalizes and materializes the symbol by turning it into food. The sacred becomes bodily, almost grotesque. Pasolini often employed similar strategies to undermine ideological idealization and return myth to physical reality.

The killing of the bear also contributes to this critique. In the biblical imagination, paradise precedes violence. In Queirós’s version, violence becomes constitutive of humanity itself. Adam and Eve must confront danger directly:

“O urso tombou pesadamente diante deles...”
(“The bear fell heavily before them...”)

The scene is not narrated morally but pragmatically. Violence is neither heroic nor sinful; it is simply necessary. This aligns with Pasolini’s (1972) fascination with pre-bourgeois existence, where survival precedes institutional morality. Furthermore, the story undermines bourgeois notions of human superiority. Adam and Eve are not noble beings fashioned in divine perfection; they are frightened, uncertain creatures gradually improvising ways to survive. Their humanity is not pure but contradictory.

Pasolini (1972) often criticized modern society for masking primal realities beneath ideological systems. Queirós anticipates this critique by exposing civilization itself as a fragile construction layered over instinct, fear, and desire. The development of tools, fire, and social bonds may indicate progress, but they also introduce alienation and domination. Thus, the story functions not merely as a parody of Genesis but as a critique of the cultural narratives that societies use to justify moral and social hierarchies.

Lacanian Psychoanalysis: The Birth of the Subject

A Lacanian reading shifts the focus from biological evolution to the emergence of subjectivity, the birth of the human being. For Lacan (1977), becoming human means entering a symbolic structure defined by language, desire, and lack. Queirós’s Adam becomes human not simply by standing upright or using tools, but by becoming aware of himself as distinct from the world around him. Adam’s contemplation of the horizon marks the beginning of this division. His pause before the unknown suggests the interruption of instinct by thought. The subject emerges precisely at the moment of hesitation.

This process of hesitation intensifies through Eve’s presence. Eve functions as the “Other” through whom Adam perceives difference and develops desire. Their mutual curiosity marks the beginning of relational consciousness. They no longer exist merely as organisms responding to stimuli; they begin interpreting each other symbolically. As Silva (2017) observes, Queirós’s Eve differs substantially from the passive and morally burdened figure of traditional Christian readings. Instead, she embodies curiosity, perception, and relational consciousness. Her presence is fundamental not because she initiates “sin,” but because she mediates Adam’s entry into symbolic and emotional complexity. In this sense, Eve functions less as a theological wrongdoer and more as a catalyst for human subjectivity.

The snake episode can also be read psychoanalytically. Eve’s fascination with the serpent represents the emergence of desire toward something external and enigmatic. Adam’s consumption of the snake symbolizes an attempt to internalize and master the object of desire. Yet, according to Lacan (1977), desire can never be fully satisfied because it is structured by absence.

The story repeatedly emphasizes uncertainty, fear, and incompleteness. Adam and Eve do not achieve stable fulfillment; instead, they become increasingly aware of danger, vulnerability, and separation. These experiences correspond to Lacan’s notion of the Real, that which resists full symbolization.

The discovery and control of fire further reinforce humanity’s entrance into the Symbolic order:

“Guardaram cuidadosamente a chama...”
(“They carefully preserved the flame...”)

Fire symbolizes technological mediation between humanity and nature. It transforms the environment but also distances humans from direct immediacy. Through fire, Adam and Eve become creators of culture rather than passive inhabitants of nature. The culmination of this process appears in the narrator’s ironic conclusion:

“Já eram muito humanos.”
(“They were already very human.”)

This sentence encapsulates the tragedy of consciousness. To become “very human” means:

to desire endlessly,
to experience fear,
to dominate and destroy,
to construct meanings, and
to become alienated from primordial unity.

In Lacanian terms, the true “fall” is not moral but ontological: the entrance into subjectivity itself.

Synthesis: Humanity as Conflict and Construction

When read together, Darwinian, Pasolinian, and Lacanian perspectives reveal the extraordinary complexity of Queirós’s narrative. Each framework emphasizes a different dimension of humanity:

·	Darwin explains humanity biologically through adaptation and struggle.
·	Pasolini exposes the ideological construction of myth and morality.
·	Lacan explores the psychological fragmentation underlying subjectivity.

Yet these perspectives converge in portraying humanity as fundamentally unstable. Adam and Eve are neither innocent biblical archetypes nor triumphant evolutionary heroes. They are beings suspended between instinct and consciousness, nature and culture, fulfillment and lack.

The story’s irony lies precisely in this ambiguity. Humanity emerges not through divine perfection but through conflict, violence, and uncertainty. The paradise of the narrative is therefore deeply paradoxical: it is both origin and exile. Queirós transforms Genesis into a modern myth of becoming. Consciousness itself becomes the decisive event, not a gift from God, but a painful awakening into complexity.

Story Mapping (Acuña Solano, 2026)

Some literary reflective journaling regarding Adão e Eva no Paraíso

1. Life in the Tree (Pre-awareness)

· Action: Adam lives like an ape, fully integrated into nature.

· Implied meaning: No sense of self. Pure instinct.

→ Pre-subject state (before consciousness).

2. Climbing Down the Tree

· Action: Adam descends to the ground.

· Implied meaning: Break from instinctual security; first separation from nature.

→ Beginning of individuation.

3. Standing Upright

· Action: He assumes a vertical posture.

· Implied meaning: Physical transformation mirrors psychological elevation.

→ Toward human identity (body precedes mind).

4. Staring at the Horizon

· Action: He looks outward into the distance.

· Implied meaning: Awareness of space, future, and “otherness.”

→ First sign of reflection and projection.

5. Pausing / Hesitating

· Action: He stops and lingers in uncertainty.

· Implied meaning: Emergence of thought interrupts instinct.

→ Consciousness creates doubt.

6. Awareness of Self

· Action: He begins to perceive himself as distinct.

· Implied meaning: Birth of the “I.”

→ Entry into subjectivity (what Jacques Lacan would call the formation of the subject).

7. Perception of the Environment as “Other”

· Action: Nature is no longer an extension of him.

· Implied meaning: Division between subject and world.

→ Loss of unity with nature.

8. First Desire / Lack

· Action: He wants, seeks, or reaches beyond immediate needs.

· Implied meaning: Desire replaces instinct.

→ Human condition begins (structured by lack).

9. Emotional Emergence (Fear, Curiosity)

· Action: He reacts not just physically, but emotionally.

· Implied meaning: Inner life develops.

→ Psychological complexity.

10. Full Awakening (28 de Outubro)

· Action: The narrator marks the moment as the “date” of awakening.

· Implied meaning: Humanity is narrativized and symbolically fixed.

→ The birth of “man” as a conscious, historical being.

11. Encounter with Eve

Action: Adam meets Eve as another being similar yet different.

· Implied meaning: Recognition of the Other.

→ Human identity becomes relational, not isolated.

12. Mutual Observation

· Action: They look at each other with curiosity.

· Implied meaning: Awareness of difference (especially sexual difference).

→ Beginning of attraction and comparison.

13. Emergence of Desire

· Action: They feel drawn to one another.

· Implied meaning: Desire goes beyond survival; it becomes symbolic and emotional.

→ Foundation of human relationships.

14. Eve’s Encounter with the Snake

· Action: Eve interacts with the snake; it draws her attention (curiosity rather than moral temptation).

· Implied meaning: Curiosity replaces sin; knowledge is exploratory, not forbidden.

→ Shift from instinct to cognitive engagement with the environment.

15. Adam Eats the Snake

· Action: Instead of being tempted, Adam captures and eats the snake.

· Implied meaning: Radical inversion of Genesis:

o The snake is no longer a tempter but prey.

o Knowledge is not transmitted symbolically—it is incorporated physically.

→ Human dominance over nature begins.

16. First Social Bond

· Action: They remain together instead of acting independently.

· Implied meaning: Formation of companionship.

→ Birth of proto-society.

17. Discovery / Control of Fire

· Action: They encounter and begin to use fire.

· Implied meaning: Transition from passive beings to agents who transform nature.

→ Technology as a marker of humanity.

18. Reaction to Fire

· Action: Fear turns into fascination and control.

· Implied meaning: Humans reinterpret danger into utility.

→ Intelligence reshapes instinct.

19. Confrontation with the Bear

· Action: They face a threatening animal (the bear).

· Implied meaning: Awareness of mortality and external danger.

→ Conflict introduces survival strategy.

20. Killing of the Bear

· Action: They manage to kill it (through cooperation and/or tools).

· Implied meaning: Humans assert dominance over nature.

→ Violence becomes instrumental and conscious.

21. Aftermath of the Kill

· Action: They process what they have done.

· Implied meaning: Emergence of reflection, possibly pride or proto-ethics.

→ Violence is no longer instinctive; it is meaningful.

22. Consolidation of Cooperation

· Action: Adam and Eve act as a unit.

· Implied meaning: Shared goals and interdependence.

→ Foundation of social organization.

23. Habit Formation

· Action: Repeated behaviors (fire use, cooperation, protection).

· Implied meaning: Culture begins to replace pure instinct.

→ From survival to patterned living.

24. Emotional and Cognitive Complexity

· Action: They exhibit curiosity, fear, attachment, and intention.

· Implied meaning: Inner life becomes structured and layered.

→ Full psychological emergence.

25. Distance from Nature

· Action: Nature is no longer “home” but something to manage.

· Implied meaning: Irreversible separation from original unity.

→ The true “fall” is existential, not religious.

26. “Very Human” Condition (Narrator’s Conclusion)

· Action: The narrator affirms their fully human state.

· Implied meaning: Humanity is defined by:

o consciousness

o desire

o cooperation

o violence

o tool use

o symbolic thinking

→ To be human is to live in tension: between instinct and reflection, nature and culture.

Conclusion

Adão e Eva no Paraíso stands as one of the most intellectually daring reinterpretations of Genesis in modern literature. Through irony, scientific discourse, and philosophical reflection, Eça de Queirós dismantles traditional narratives of human origins and replaces them with a vision grounded in evolution, desire, and existential uncertainty.

A Darwinian reading reveals the story’s emphasis on adaptation, material struggle, and biological emergence. A Pasolinian reading uncovers its critique of myth, ideology, and bourgeois morality. A Lacanian reading exposes the psychological drama of subject formation and alienation.

Together, these perspectives demonstrate that Queirós’s Adam and Eve are not merely the first humans in a biblical sense. They are the first modern subjects: conscious beings defined by contradiction, incompleteness, and the endless search for meaning.

San José, Costa Rica

Friday, May 15, 2026

📚 References

Acuña Solano, J. (2026). Adão e Eva no Paraíso’s literary notes on the structure of the story. Unpublished reflective journaling.

Darwin, C. (1859). On the origin of species. London: John Murray.
http://darwin-online.org.uk

Lacan, J. (1977). Écrits: A selection. Norton.
http://www.lacan.com

Pasolini, P. P. (1972). Empirismo eretico. Garzanti.
https://monoskop.org/Pier_Paolo_Pasolini

Mayr, E. (2001). What evolution is. Basic Books.
https://books.google.com

Dixon, P. (2016). Adam and Eve according to Eça and Machado.
http://dx.doi.org/10.14195/2183-847X_6_7

Rodrigues, J. B., Morgado, E. M. G., Pereira, L. C., & Silva, L. L. F. (2017).
Adão e Eva no Paraíso: A força dominadora do símbolo.
http://dx.doi.org/10.19177/rcc.12022017315-331

Queirós, E. de. (1897/2021). Adão e Eva no Paraíso. Project Gutenberg.
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66626

Silva, F. M. (2017). The figure of Eve in Eça de Queirós.
https://www.todasasmusas.com.br/15Fabio_Mario.pdf

Discussion Questions (Advanced Literary Analysis)

Darwinian Perspective

· How does Adam’s descent from the tree symbolize evolutionary development rather than divine creation?

· In what ways does the environment contradict the idea of a harmonious Eden?

· What is the significance of Adam eating the snake instead of being tempted by it?

Pasolinian Perspective

· How does Queirós reinterpret the myth of Genesis to critique religious ideology?

· In what ways does the story expose the fragility of moral systems associated with bourgeois society?

· How does violence (e.g., killing the bear) function as a critique of “civilized” values?

Lacanian Perspective