Ecofeminist Revisionist Mythmaking: Revising Gnostic Literature for the 21st Century

This thesis/creative project explores revisionist mythmaking expressed in the ancient texts of Gnosticism. It also references modern works which are revisions of Greek mythology and the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis. Two creative writing works are inserted into a larger essay: a synopsis of three gnostic creation myths entitled “The Upside Down: A Gnostic Genesis” and a revisionist myth entitled “Sophia’s Story.” Gnostic revisionist myths are wrought with the duality between matter and spirit. “Sophia’s Story” is an example of how an ancient myth can be revised to reflect 21st-century problems. The myth inverts the duality between matter and spirit into an origin story that unites matter (nature) and spirit. The essay as a whole addresses how mythmaking reflects the society and culture of the time to make sense out of the writers’ lived reality. In the case of the Gnostics, they were oppressed and colonized by the Roman Empire. For example, a gnostic story about the rape of Eve by an evil demiurge and his rulers reflects the abuses colonized women suffered. The essay is also a research project that delves into two personalities that appear in the author’s unpublished novel, Norea: Origins, to further develop their characters. The antagonist, Yaldabaoth, and the protagonist Norea, are main characters in Gnostic mythology. Yaldabaoth is an evil demiurge that created humans as slaves and rapes Norea’s mother Eve. Norea is a female savior in Gnostic mythology. Norea confronts Yaldabaoth and his rulers, names them, damns them, and discovers her true self through gnosis, or knowledge. The author shows how revising myths and retelling old stories can speak to the societal problems we face by navigating the climate crisis in an ecofeminist way.