The line of her body joins with that of the serpent-ivy round the tree
trunk above her: a double myth--of her fall, and her support afterwards
by her husband's strength. "Thy desire shall be to thy husband." The
fruit of the tree--double-set filbert, telling nevertheless the happy
equality.
The leaves in this piece are finished with consummate poetical care and
precision. Above Adam, laurel (a virtuous woman is a crown to her
husband); the filbert for the two together; the fig, for fruitful
household joy (under thy vine and fig-tree [Footnote: Compare Fors
Clavigera, February, 1877.]--but vine properly the masculine joy); and
the fruit taken by Christ for type of all naturally growing food, in
his own hunger.
Examine with lens the ribbing of these leaves, and the insertion on
their stem of the three laurel leaves on extreme right: and observe
that in all cases the sculptor works the moulding _with_ his own
part of the design; look how he breaks variously deeper into it,
beginning from the foot of Christ, and going up to the left into full
depth above the shoulder.
3. _Original labour._
Much poorer, and intentionally so. For the myth of the creation of
humanity, the sculptor uses his best strength, and shows supremely the
grace of womanhood; but in representing the first peasant state of
life, makes the grace of woman by no means her conspicuous quality. She
even walks awkwardly; some feebleness in foreshortening the foot also
embarrassing the sculptor.
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