May 22, 2020 | By Hannah Loomis

Where are you from?

I am from Johannesburg, South Africa.

Which book did you write on?

I wrote on Genesis.

What’s the title of your essay?

The title of my essay is: “If not a womb then what are we? An Analysis of the Rehabilitation of the Sin of Eve, Seen Through the Development of Women in Genesis.”

What was the essence of your argument?

The essence of my argument is that the action of Eve eating the fruit and getting Adam to do so is seen to be a sin, yet through the movement and development of Genesis we see that the same type of action (Eve’s form of agency) is turned into a virtue in women and becomes the virtue prudence. And through the development of this prudence, we see that women become co-creators with G-d, and have a distinct role in the building of the Jewish tribe that goes beyond being a ‘helper’ to the men.

How did your essay connect to the different aspects of the Program from throughout your four years?

I got the idea to write on Genesis for my senior paper because I wrote on the role of Eve in Genesis for my sophomore paper and felt that I had more questions for the texts. The senior essay was a great opportunity to address those questions. I think working through the Program allows you to distill key questions that are going to plague you for your whole life. The two questions that I have looked at all four years is “What does it mean to be a good citizen, and what is the relationship between G-d and politics?” And I feel I attempted to answer those questions somewhat in my senior essay.

What was the writing process like for you?

I think the writing process for me was less stressful than most. I have been working with my advisor since my Junior year, so by the time I got into senior year I already had an outline and my question. And by the beginning of writing period I had 15 pages of my paper that I had worked on the semester before. So I feel that I really got to sit with my question, and stew and work slowly through my paper during the writing period, which was truly one of the coolest experiences I have had at St John’s.

What is the most important lesson you learned during your time at St. John’s?

Socrates encourages a state of perplexity in the Meno in order for us to learn and further ourselves. I believe that St John’s does the same thing; it encourages us to be perplexed and to search for answers—and then to search again for better ones. I believe this is a project that lasts a lifetime, and I hope I can continue on the path that St John’s has set for me.