Upon eating from the tree of knowledge, good and evil, Eve’s innocence, along with all of mankind’s, is lost. She is now introduced to the many feelings and emotions associated with the knowledge of good and evil. Among these are desire and lust, which from this point on are directed toward her husband. Eve did not know good and evil before eating the forbidden fruit, however, she can and must be held accountable for her actions.

At the beginning of CHAPTER 3 of the book of Genesis, God’s creation of Man, Woman, the earth, and all its inhabitants is complete. At this early stage of the existence of man, God presents him with a world in which he may live without the burden of sin for he knows no wrong. He is completely innocent, bearing no awareness to the existence of good and evil. God provides him with the opportunity to lavish in the fruits of the land, with his wife, as long as neither touches the fruit of tree of knowledge, good and evil.

The serpent deceives Eve, convincing her that God will surely not kill her for eating from the tree. He persuades her to believe that God is only saying this out of fear that upon eating its fruit, she, too, will gain knowledge of good and evil and be equal with God. When Eve takes the fruit and convinces Adam to join her in the earth’s first act of sinful indulgence, they both are immediately ashamed of their nakedness. In reaction to this new feeling, they take shelter in the bushes. When God asks them why they are hiding and they truthfully respond, he punishes them both accordingly. Man is summonsed to cultivate the land so that he must provide for himself and his family. God will no longer provide for him. Woman is given the penalty of experiencing heightened pain during childbirth. God also commands that her desires will, from now on, be for her husband. This would suggest that man will employ a level of superiority over woman. Upon this exchange, Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden of Eden.

Before eating from the tree of knowledge, good and evil, Eve epitomizes the state of pure innocence. Or it could be said that she epitomizes ignorance. Either way, it clear that she know not right nor wrong; good nor evil. At this point, Eve’s knowledge of life in general is debatable. Because Eve only "knows" what God has set forth for her, she has no understanding of the existence of consequence.

Before eating the forbidden fruit, Eve did not recognize the emotions of desire or lust for they did not yet exist. Her understanding of these emotions is the direct result of her realization of the existence of consequence. Because she disobeyed God, she is punished. This punishment is her consequence. It is through her punishment that her relationship with desire and lust changes. God said to Eve: "And for you man shall be your longing, and he shall rule over you." It can be assumed that before this, woman’s desire, though unconscious at this point, was directed toward God. Now, as punishment, God dismantles her status of equality with man to a level of inequality.

Even though Eve knew not of good and evil before eating from the tree, she can still be held accountable for her actions. Biblically speaking, it is clear that Eve was held accountable for her actions. God commanded Eve not to take the fruit from the tree. Though she did not know good and evil, she still had the inherent capacity to maintain trust in her creator. This, she failed to do. In her attempt to deceive the Him, God was forced to demand reparation for the sins of man so that he could maintain his ruling authority over him.