--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the legends that males have invented…" description: "\"In the legends that males have invented to explain life, the first human creature is a man named Adam. Eve arrives later, to give him pleasure and caus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/oriana-fallaci-3082_adam_in-the-legends-that-males-have-invented_2813925.jpg" --- # In the legends that males have invented to explain life… ![“In the legends that males have invented to explain life, the first human creature is a man named Adam. Eve arrives later, to give him pleasure and cause trouble. In the paintings that adorn churches, God is an old man with a beard, never an old woman with white hair. And all the heroes are males…” quote by Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/oriana-fallaci-3082_adam_in-the-legends-that-males-have-invented_2813925.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/oriana-fallaci-3082_adam_in-the-legends-that-males-have-invented_2813925.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/oriana-fallaci-3082_adam_in-the-legends-that-males-have-invented_2813925.jpg) > “In the legends that males have invented to explain life, the first human creature is a man named Adam. Eve arrives later, to give him pleasure and cause trouble. In the paintings that adorn churches, God is an old man with a beard, never an old woman with white hair. And all the heroes are males: from Prometheus who discovered fire to Icarus who tried to fly, on down to Jesus whom they call the Son of God and of the Holy Spirit, almost as though the woman giving birth to him were an incubator or a wetnurse.” [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques how male‑centric narratives dominate mythology, art, and religion, marginalizing women and assigning them secondary or symbolic roles. **In simple terms:** It points out male bias in cultural stories and imagery. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge gender bias in cultural narratives. Themes gender bias mythology representation religion art Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical critical When to use this quote - education - media analysis - religious studies - art criticism Key Concepts patriarchy symbolism historical narrative Questions to Reflect On - How do you see gender bias in the stories you encounter? - What would a balanced narrative look like? A Different Perspective Male‑centric narratives can also empower women when reinterpreted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adam/) [Adam Eve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adam-eve/) [Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beard/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-birth/) [Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hair/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Heroes Males](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroes-males-3539623/) [Holy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy/) [Holy spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy-spirit/) [Human Creature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-creature-623939/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Icarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/icarus/) [Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesus/) [Legends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legends/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Males](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/males/) [Males Invented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/males-invented-3539622/) [Males Prometheus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/males-prometheus-3539621/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nurse/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Old woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-woman/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Prometheus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prometheus/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) [Son of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son-of-god/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-hair/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing is more symptomatic of the enervation, of the decompression of the Western imagination, than our incapacity to respond to the landings on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/nothing-is-more-symptomatic-of-the-enervation-of-the-decompression-of/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [“He was alone. The past was dead, the future was unimaginable. What certainty had he that a single human creature now living was on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-was-alone-the-past-was-dead-the-future-was-unimaginable-what/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [The human creature is alone in his carapace. Poetry is a strong way out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/the-human-creature-is-alone-in-his-carapace-poetry-is-a-strong-way-out/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [Man is not intended to see through the eyes of another, hear through another's ears nor comprehend with another's brain. Each human creature has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdu-l-bah/man-is-not-intended-to-see-through-the-eyes-of-another-hear-through/) [Abdu'l-Bahá](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdu-l-bah/) > [“Even though the human creature has a complete physical and an organic structure in its mental and psychological condition as a conscious and spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-bernardo-gonz-lez-pecotche/even-though-the-human-creature-has-a-complete-physical-and-an-organic/) [Carlos Bernardo González Pecotche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-bernardo-gonz-lez-pecotche/) > [Definition of Human Being:A creature that cuts trees,makes paper & writes Save Trees on the same paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/definition-of-human-being-a-creature-that-cuts-trees-makes-paper/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The individual human is still the creature who can wonder, who can be enchanted by a sonata, who can place symbols together to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-individual-human-is-still-the-creature-who-can-wonder-who-can-be/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [There are, indeed, few merrier spectacles than that of many windmills bickering together in a fresh breeze over a woody country; their halting alacrity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/there-are-indeed-few-merrier-spectacles-than-that-of-many-windmills/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [No human creature can give orders to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/no-human-creature-can-give-orders-to-love/) [George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/) > [The human creature, humiliated and offended in ways that are inconceivable to the mind and heart, defies the blind and deaf divinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-human-creature-humiliated-and-offended-in-ways-that-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some things which are remote in space and time from a living creature, especially a human creature, may form his environment even more truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/some-things-which-are-remote-in-space-and-time-from-a-living-creature/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [I don't believe that there is a human creature in his senses, arrived to maturity, that at some time or other has not been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-de-mandeville/i-don-t-believe-that-there-is-a-human-creature-in-his-senses-arrived/) [Bernard de Mandeville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-de-mandeville/) > [“The human creature is so astonishing, but count on it before anything else to be just that-a creature. A laughing animal, a dangerous one,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffery-deaver/the-human-creature-is-so-astonishing-but-count-on-it-before-anything/) [Jeffery Deaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffery-deaver/) > [I define a human being as that creature that has no power or control over his/her own conscience and yet is still comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/i-define-a-human-being-as-that-creature-that-has-no-power-or-control/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [“Hanging upside down above them was a fat, frog-faced creature. Its head and feet were amphibious, with slimy, bumpy skin and a puffed, bulbous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buckley/hanging-upside-down-above-them-was-a-fat-frog-faced-creature-its-head/) [Michael Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buckley/) ## More by Oriana Fallaci > [Henry Kissinger may have wished I had presented him as a combination of Charles DeGaulle and Disraeli, but I didn't…out of respect for DeGaulle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/henry-kissinger-may-have-wished-i-had-presented-him-as-a-combination/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [One day you and I will have to have a little talk about this business called love. I still don't understand what it's all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/one-day-you-and-i-will-have-to-have-a-little-talk-about-this-business/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Europe becomes more and more a province of Islam, a colony of Islam. And Italy is an outpost of that province, a stronghold of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/europe-becomes-more-and-more-a-province-of-islam-a-colony-of-islam/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Journalism is an extraordinary and terrible privilege. Not by chance, if you are aware of it, does it consume you with a hundred feelings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/journalism-is-an-extraordinary-and-terrible-privilege-not-by-chance/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [I don't hide. I never have. I stay at home because I like to stay at home, and at home I work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/i-don-t-hide-i-never-have-i-stay-at-home-because-i-like-to-stay-at/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [“i live on my books. on my writings, i live on my royalties: the percentage an author recieves on each sold copy. and i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/i-live-on-my-books-on-my-writings-i-live-on-my-royalties-the/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Whether it comes from a despotic sovereign or an elected president, from a murderous general or a beloved leader, I see power as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/whether-it-comes-from-a-despotic-sovereign-or-an-elected-president/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [How do you dare to ask me for a solution? It's like asking Seneca for a solution. You remember what he did? He committed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/how-do-you-dare-to-ask-me-for-a-solution-it-s-like-asking-seneca-for/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Physical courage is a great test.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/physical-courage-is-a-great-test/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [If a man is a man and not a sheep in the flock, he has a survival instinct in him that leads him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/if-a-man-is-a-man-and-not-a-sheep-in-the-flock-he-has-a-survival/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [There are moments in Life when keeping silent becomes a fault, and speaking an obligation. A civic duty, a moral challenge, a categorical imperative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/there-are-moments-in-life-when-keeping-silent-becomes-a-fault-and/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Khomeini was not a puppet like Arafat or Qaddafi or the many other dictators I met in the Islamic world. He was a sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/khomeini-was-not-a-puppet-like-arafat-or-qaddafi-or-the-many-other/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Laura Bush has the face of my mother when my mother was young. The face, the body, the voice. The first time I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/laura-bush-has-the-face-of-my-mother-when-my-mother-was-young-the/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [“La guerra è un infanticidio in massa, rinviato di vent'anni.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/la-guerra-un-infanticidio-in-massa-rinviato-di-vent-anni/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [America's vulnerability comes precisely from its strength, its wealth, its power and its modernity. It's the usual story of the dog chasing its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/america-s-vulnerability-comes-precisely-from-its-strength-its-wealth/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) [Explore all 118 Oriana Fallaci quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) ## More Adam quotes > [Women rule the world. It's not really worth fighting because they know what they're doing. Ask Napoleon. Ask Adam. Ask Richard Burton or Richie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/women-rule-the-world-it-s-not-really-worth-fighting-because-they-know/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“Adam could imagine what he looked like: a debauched nerd.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullinan/adam-could-imagine-what-he-looked-like-a-debauched-nerd/) [Heidi Cullinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullinan/) > [Adam Berenson knows how to compose, organize an ensemble, do musical research, play solo and trio piano, write for musical journals, and enlist others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bley/adam-berenson-knows-how-to-compose-organize-an-ensemble-do-musical/) [Paul Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bley/) > [“Finally, someone had seen him. And what had he done? Let her get away. Undermined by his disgusting human anatomy. It had just been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/finally-someone-had-seen-him-and-what-had-he-done-let-her-get-away/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“I’d think there are degrees of greatness,” Adam said. “I don’t think so,” said Samuel. “That would be like saying there is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-d-think-there-are-degrees-of-greatness-adam-said-i-don-t-think-so/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost abhorrence of sin, was never invented by any of Adam's descendents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/an-ineffably-holy-god-who-has-the-utmost-abhorrence-of-sin-was-never/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“think Adam is looking to break Kenji’s neck at this point.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/think-adam-is-looking-to-break-kenji-s-neck-at-this-point/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“Adam's lips are set in a grime line. I can't tell if he's about to cry or about to punch the guard. For his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/adam-s-lips-are-set-in-a-grime-line-i-can-t-tell-if-he-s-about-to-cry/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [And as regards Adam and Eve we must maintain that before the fall they were virgins in Paradise: but after they sinned, and were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/and-as-regards-adam-and-eve-we-must-maintain-that-before-the-fall/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees, So when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/oh-adam-was-a-gardener-and-god-who-made-him-sees-that-half-a-proper/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“Barışı elde etmek için çabalayan her adam olağanüstü bir adamdır!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/bar-elde-etmek-i-in-abalayan-her-adam-ola-an-st-bir-adamd-r/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) [Browse all 1,360 Adam quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adam/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the legends that males have invented to explain life, the first human creature is a man named Adam. Eve arrives later, to give him pleasure and cause trouble. In the paintings that adorn churches, God is an old man with a beard, never an old woman with white hair. And all the heroes are males: from Prometheus who discovered fire to Icarus who tried to fly, on down to Jesus whom they call the Son of God and of the Holy Spirit, almost as though the woman giving birth to him were an incubator or a wetnurse.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oriana Fallaci" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/in-the-legends-that-males-have-invented-to-explain-life-the-first/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adam" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/in-the-legends-that-males-have-invented-to-explain-life-the-first/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/oriana-fallaci-3082_adam_in-the-legends-that-males-have-invented_2813925.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/oriana-fallaci-3082_adam_in-the-legends-that-males-have-invented_2813925.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/oriana-fallaci-3082_adam_in-the-legends-that-males-have-invented_2813925.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the legends that males have invented to explain life, the first human creature is a man named Adam. Eve…” — Oriana Fallaci", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Oriana Fallaci", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In the legends that males have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/in-the-legends-that-males-have-invented-to-explain-life-the-first/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/in-the-legends-that-males-have-invented-to-explain-life-the-first/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```