{"id":1560446,"date":"2022-07-19T07:50:29","date_gmt":"2022-07-19T11:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1560446"},"modified":"2022-07-19T07:50:36","modified_gmt":"2022-07-19T11:50:36","slug":"eve-in-exile-is-the-pep-talk-conservative-women-need-to-hear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/eve-in-exile-is-the-pep-talk-conservative-women-need-to-hear\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Eve In Exile\u2019 Is The Pep Talk Conservative Women Need To Hear"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Feve-in-exile-is-the-pep-talk-conservative-women-need-to-hear%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1560446&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/eve-scaled-e1658167539337.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>What are feminists fighting for today? According to Rebekah Merkle, not much.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think even the third-wave feminists have any idea what they\u2019re fighting for,\u201d the author and mother of five says in the recent documentary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eveinexile.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cEve in Exile: The Restoration of Femininity.\u201d<\/a> \u201cEvery battle has been won,\u201d Merkle continues, \u201cand now we\u2019ve gotten into the weird space where we don\u2019t know what a woman is,\u201d she says in the 67-minute film from Canon+, a streaming service from Canon Press. The documentary traces the history of feminism, how it dismantled the meaning of womanhood, and how women today can reclaim that identity.<\/p>\n<p>Merkle never explicitly explains the film\u2019s title (which it shares with her <a href=\"https:\/\/canonpress.com\/products\/eve-in-exile\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2016 book<\/a>), but her description of feminist ideology as a destructive force conjures the image of Eve, a symbol of womanhood, wandering through a confused world and robbed of purpose.<\/p>\n<p>After tearing down centuries-old understanding of sexuality, feminism has declared that women are not and <em>cannot <\/em>be anything different from men. What\u2019s more, it preaches a gospel of self-fulfillment over self-gift, rendering family life at best superfluous and at worst deadweight.<\/p>\n<p>But with appealing optimism, Merkle asserts that she wouldn\u2019t want to live in any other age. Because now, amid the wreckage of modern culture, there is an opportunity to rebuild a home for Eve.<\/p>\n<p>Addressed primarily to Christians, Merkle pieces together a scriptural understanding of what womanhood means. At the same time, her arguments incorporate historical and scientific facts that can resonate with nonreligious viewers as well.<\/p>\n<h2>Motherhood as a Way to Love<\/h2>\n<p>For example, she points out that because fertility is an integral part of women\u2019s biological and psychological existence, it\u2019s only natural that the mission of women involves bearing and caring for life. For many, that means literally being mothers, but for all women, it means approaching their work not just as a path to personal achievement but as a way to love and uplift others.<\/p>\n<p>Merkle quotes the Bible often, but it\u2019s never forced and always in a natural setting: while making coffee, painting bookshelves, or strolling through her garden. Her faith is visibly integrated with her life, and that makes her message appealing \u2013 even when she takes on the disquieting biblical passages about wives being subordinate to their husbands. Without watering down the passages, Merkle offers context and with just a few simple words shows how the Bible actually honors women as the pinnacle of God\u2019s creation. \u201cIf you just look at [God\u2019s] creation,\u201d she asks, \u201c\u2026Why would he suddenly, when he gets to mankind, top it off with \u2026 a creature that\u2019s never allowed to do anything neat?\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>What Does Biblical Femininity Look Like?<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cEve in Exile\u201d does leave something to be desired: more voices. We <em>see <\/em>women of all ages on screen, cooking meals or digging in gardens, but it\u2019s all overlaid by Merkle\u2019s monologue. Granted, she did write the book that grounds the film, but by the one-hour mark, it\u2019s hard not to feel a little tired of hearing the same voice.<\/p>\n<p>Merkle could have strengthened her message by discussing it with other women trying to live it. What does biblical femininity look like in the life of a college student, a young mom with toddlers, a middle-aged mom working part-time, or a retired grandmother? Merkle notes that living the mission is unique to each woman\u2019s life, and she has a point. Still, individual stories would offer ideas about how the rebuilding of womanhood <em>could <\/em>look for one woman or another.<\/p>\n<p>Merkle does give a few examples from her own life, particularly working with her husband to redesign the kitchen. The anecdote offers insight about spousal love and cooperation \u2014 but for those of us who are not planning a full kitchen remodeling, the example doesn\u2019t quite hit home.<\/p>\n<p>This leads us to another area where the film falls short: practical tips. After presenting such a countercultural view of womanhood, some suggestions about <em>how<\/em> to uphold it in everyday situations would have clinched the message as not only desirable but doable.<\/p>\n<h2>Documentary Lacks Real-Life Mess<\/h2>\n<p>Toward the end of the film, Merkle encourages her fellow women to roll up their sleeves and to not be afraid of getting messy while rebuilding their feminine role. Meanwhile, all the footage shows clean, glossy homes with smiling families. As heartwarming as these images are, they seem more like commercials than real life. It might leave us wondering whether in this glorious pursuit of womanhood, a new mom struggling to nurse or a busy mom cleaning up vomit is falling short.<\/p>\n<p>Merkle speaks about messes in general terms, but the film could have been more upfront about the real thing, the unpredictable adventure of mothering, the necessity of leaning on loved ones for help \u2014 and the beauty that can be found amidst it all.<\/p>\n<p>In the end, Merkle\u2019s message about womanhood sells, but it remains unclear how it\u2019ll work. In other words, \u201cEve in Exile\u201d is inspiring but incomplete. Perhaps the book offers more perspective and practical tools, and if the intent of the film was to encourage viewers to read the book, it might succeed. But for those who prefer the pep talk <em>and<\/em> the practical tips on screen, we could do with a sequel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEve in Exile\u201d is available to stream on <a href=\"https:\/\/mycanonplus.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Canon+<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">\n  Sophia Martinson is a wife, mom, and <a href=\"https:\/\/sophiamartinson.wixsite.com\/writer\">freelance culture writer<\/a> for various publications. Her blog, <a href=\"http:\/\/homemakerhopeful.com\/\">Homemaker Hopeful<\/a>, explores the skills of taking care of home and family.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are feminists fighting for today? According to Rebekah Merkle, not much. \u201cI don\u2019t think even the third-wave feminists have any idea what they\u2019re fighting for,\u201d the author and mother<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":930,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1560446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/930"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1560446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1560446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1560446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1560446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}