She slips amidst the shadows, noticed yet unseen, with Armani on her cuffs, rum on her breath and murder on her mind. Even God can't save the one on whose door Lilith knocks tonight
She was the first person ever to fight for her rights, the first person who stood tall and choose independence over near enslavement. She may be mythological but that does not mitigate her powers, for she is the mother of night.
She is Lilith.
Most of us know very little about the Jewish folk figure, Lilith. Often viewed as a woman of strong convictions and a sense of independence, she frightened most and was often branded as a demoness. Peculiarly, we all know her story but are unaware of her very existence in it, for it is the one of Adam and Eve.
It's the same old story: God creates a boy, the boy feels lonely, and so God creates a girl for him. The girl finds herself in hot water after she does what she was asked not to and then the boy dooms himself too because, well, true love. They had eaten the forbidden fruit and were then banished from Eden after being cursed.
Here comes the version (technically, a prequel) featuring our heroine: Lilith, She was Adam's first wife, created as his equal and not as an afterthought (sorry Eve). Things were almost merry in the garden of Eden until Lilith refused to lay beneath Adam and asked to be treated as his equal.
After Adam refused to even acknowledge her demands, she did what any sensible person would do in such a situation, pack a bag and leave as quickly as possible. Three angels were then sent after Lilith to pressurise her into returning. After she refused, the angels declared that they would kill a hundred children of her's every day. Seeking revenge, Lilith declared that she will be responsible for the birth of stillborn children and cause miscarriages in women. A short story even shorter, Eve was then created from Adam’s rib to be his wife while Lilith got zilch. This is one of the oldest documented stories depicting a failed marriage with a pretty partial settlement.
Recently, Lilith has been stepping up into the spotlight due to her ever-increasing portrayals in movies, web series, and books. Historically, she has always been an obscure character, usually depicted as a vile monster that tempts and drags men into the pits of Hell. However, in her modern renditions, she is often depicted as a feminist who proudly broke the gender norms that were being forced upon her. Many of her striking portrayals show her as a headstrong woman with lofty dreams who often succumb to nefarious methods to attain her goals, making her the poster girl for a grey character.
Lilith in lore was attributed to all things bad. Nonetheless, she today represents the freedom struggles of women and everyone who has ever been oppressed. Lilith rejected marriage when there were irreconcilable differences with her partner and chose an independent life for herself.
Modern depictions of Lilith show her in a much different light than her classical portrayals. For instance, in Netflix's The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Lilith, initially, is the concubine of Lucifer and is often terrorized and subdued by him. However, she vehemently desires to rule upon Hell as its unquestioned queen, While freeing herself from Satan's grasp, she is ready to do whatever it takes to fulfil her dream, well including murders and betrayals.
Whether you see her as the she-devil incarnate and blame her for everything that goes wrong in your life or view her as a complex figure with tenacity and ambition that often get clouded by her controversial actions, it is impossible to deny that she stands apart from her otherwise mundane counterparts that we often see in both the lore and pop culture. Her multiple accounts of origin and anti-hero complex make her the current favourite character choice for all kinds of content.
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