Wheresoever she was, there was Eden.

Mark Twain, Eve’s Diary, (1906)

Eve’s Diary was originally a Christmas release in 1905 and was then followed with a full book release in 1906. It is a supremely fun and comic story placing a humorous and personal perspective on events in the Garden of Eden. Primarily from the view of Eve the story becomes more involved as Twain introduces the perspective of Adam. The value of the illustrations is considerable in adding comedic value and providing contexts for Eve’s diary entries. It is definitely interesting seeing depictions of Eve with a Brontosaurus as well as riding tigers and elephants. This is still in the diary form so these more artistic excerpts are interspersed with Eve’s emotive and learning experiences as she comes to terms with her presence in the Garden.

I am almost a whole day old, now. I arrived yesterday. That is as it seems to me. And it must be so, for if there was a day-before-yesterday I was not there when it happened, or I should remember it.

Eve grapples with the concept she is an experiment and coming to terms with a lack of understanding of all the things around her. She does not yet know about the menagerie of animals in the Garden or how nature operates. However, this makes for some of the best passages about how the moon is being stolen every night or how water flows uphill. If the pool at the top of the waterfall never runs out but you see the water flowing down the waterfall during the day how does the pool never run out? The naivety of Eve in this situation is one of the most fun aspects of the story. Of course the reader understands the workings of the world but seeing the innocence and gradual learning of Eve is relieving and satisfying.

As she explores the Garden and comes to terms with both her role and the vibrancy of her surroundings she also comes to observe Adam. The diary depicts someone enamored with beauty while learning the natural workings of the world. This learning and curiosity is entertaining just as her description of Adam is.

I think it is a man. I had never seen a man…I realize that I feel more curiosity about it than any of the other reptiles…It has no hips; it tapers like a carrot; when it stands, it spreads itself apart like a derrick; so I think it is a reptile, though it may be architecture.

After a period of courtship and the two experiments getting closer the story moves to excerpts from Adam’s perspective. The most humorous section happens from his perspective with Eve suggesting domesticating a Brontosaurus and Adam responding with the impracticality of a pet that could sit down and crush their home. Adam’s perspective takes a much more utilitarian perspective in comparison to Eve and is much less appreciative of the surrounding beauty. However, the two perspectives converge on the state of their co-dependence. While Adam does not follow Eve or engage in the same curiosity, Eve likewise is represented as playfully curious but less practical. The pair come to compliment each other.

The diaries also consider the events after the fall from the Garden. The section concerning the love Adam and Eve have for each other is beautiful as well as humorous. While Eve laments the loss of the Garden she rejoices in her love for Adam and the sometimes illogical nature of that love itself.

If I ask myself why I love him, I find I do not know, and do not really much care to know; so I suppose that this kind of love is not a product of reasoning and statistics, like one’s love for other reptiles and animals.

This coming to terms of what it means to love is also questioned by Eve herself.

this kind of love is not a product of reasoning and statistics. It just COMES – none knows whence – and cannot explain itself. And doesn’t need to.

The diary ends forty years after their expulsion from the Garden with Eve’s death but depicting their beautiful and fulfilled life together. The final illustration shows a distraught Adam at Eve’s grave with the statement “Wheresoever she was, THERE was Eden.” This is a beautiful sentiment that can ultimately hold true for many loving relationships out there. While the story ultimately is funny for observing Eve’s experience of the Garden it is also romantic and beautiful in its way for depiction of the gradual escalation in loving relationship between Eve and Adam.

This is an easy read and enjoyable for the illustrations as well as the diary excerpts, a fun afternoon of reading! Writing a story from this perspective is compelling and I would certainly recommend it.