East of Eden: Timshel

It took the entire book, but I finally figured out the connection between Eden, Cain and Abel, and East of Eden.  In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had everything they could have ever wanted, but eventually doubts crept into their minds (courtesy of Satan), and they had a choice: trust God or choose knowledge.  That was the first instance of timshel, the great choice.  The choice shows up again with Cain and Abel- "thou mayest" gives us options.  There is no command, no far-away destiny, just a choice that promises greatness to the man who is able to choose the good. Every character in East of Eden struggles in their own way to choose their goodness over evil.  That is, all except Cathy.  But I'll focus on that in another blog.  Anyway, it was a small epiphany when I finally connected the choice in Eden with the book- everything made more sense.