s of mankind, while here the woman herself is the evil force. Caleb and Aron are twins, and once they are born, Cathy deserts them and Adam. Caleb does not slay his brother outright as in the biblical story. Instead, he serves as an avenging force, believing that he has been preordained to revenge himself on his mother. He does this in part by revealing the truth about their parentage to Aron, knowledge which in time destroys the young man. Caleb may be able to achieve salvation, however, through the aforementioned doctrine of "timshel," the Hebrew word that suggests the power of the human spirit to choose between good and evil.
The story of Cain and Abel is made more central to the novel by the lengthy discussion of the biblical story which is carried on between Samuel and Adam. Samuel states,
Two stories haunted us and followed us from our beginning. . .
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