Bailey's Cafe 1/2

Your favorite limbo cafe that never closes.

            Eve carries a strong meaning with her name, and her actions further prove her identity. In my opinion, Eve from Bailey’s Café is the first woman from Adam himself, or Eve from The Bible. Bailey's Eve is made of dirt, yet came from a man instead of living mud. Her god forces her to leave him in the same fashion the first woman left The Garden of Eden, and all the way Eve praises her god for her perseverance through the hardships of the outside world. Also, Bailey's Eve borders the age of one thousand years.

            Eve bathes yet still finds grains of delta dirt in the bottom of her bathtub. “I guess because it’s only dirt, and there’s something that makes you believe you can wash away dirt. But it’s not a part of me – it is me.” (82) The Biblical Adam was formed from dirt as God breathed life into him, and the Biblical Eve was taken from a rib of Adam, therefore Biblical Eve is formed of man’s flesh as well as dirt. Also, Biblical Eve tills the dirt of the Earth as Eve treks the dirt of the delta, covering and reforming them both into living mud. Like Biblical Eve, Eve also comes from a man as well as dirt. “Godfather always told me that since I never had a real mother or father and wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for him, he would decide when I was born.” (82) Godfather represents what God is to Biblical Eve; “God our father, who art in heaven.” Godfather gives life to Eve and proceeds to oversee Eve as her life progresses.

I think some delta dirt got left behind in my bathtub again! Nuts!

            Godfather’s home becomes The Garden of Eden to Eve, but she is forced to leave because she commits a sexual sin. “He said I was going to leave him the same way he’d found me, naked and hungry.” (88) Biblical Eve is forced to leave the Garden of Eden the exact same way, crying naked into the wilderness. God places hardships upon Biblical Eve, and she prays to him to thank him for his mercy and his gift of strength given her. Eve thanks Godfather for identical reasons. “I learned to eat what the muskrats ate – hope. And I blessed Godfather every step of the way. If he had raised me with tenderness, I wouldn’t have found the strength to do this.” (90)

Leaving Paradise forever.

            The Biblical Eve and Bailey’s Eve share more similarities than one, if not the same story. This relationship between them leads me to believe they are the same person. If Biblical Eve were Bailey’s Eve, she would have to be ancient in age. Indeed, Eve is old. “They were so concerned about my age, and by the time I reached Arabi there was no doubt about how many years I’d lived: close to a thousand.” (85) Of coarse people interpret this statement as a metaphor for how Eve had to grow up along the delta, but when asked about her age, Eve responds, “close to a thousand,” and she lost her sense of humor a long time ago.