SPOILER DISCUSSION

1.The references to and evocation of Eden demonstrate a kinship between Men and Lars von Trier’s Antichrist. Both films utilize the setting to reveal the patriarchal underpinnings of the Judeo-Christian logic behind the story of Genesis. If Eve is responsible for eating the apple, then she is responsible for the evils that follow being cast out of heaven. She is responsible for Adam’s corruption and sin.

In both stories, the women responsible are placed in relation the masculine workings of “Eden.” In Antichrist, this causes the leading woman to regard women as evil. In Men, this causes the leading woman’s trauma to be structured around being responsible for man’s sin.

Harper’s husband blames her for his death, regardless of whether it’s suicide or not. The vicar blames her for arousing him and bringing cause to the sexual thoughts which plague him. The masked man blames her for talking but not playing with him. In each situation, the issues with the men are tracked to being reactive to a transgression on Harper’s part. If Harper had not not done something wrong to begin with, the men would not have been corrupted and succumbed to a sin. If they have sinned, it’s her fault for having been “direct” cause: she’s the one who ate the apple from the tree.

This logic forces Harper to take “responsibility” for her husband’s death. She’s made to re-enact both the hand and leg injury he received from the fall on his male proxies. When the green man figure reaches his hand out in love, Harper grabs it because she’s in a trance-like state. She’s trusting and accepts the gesture in spite of the circumstances. But then he starts to pull her hand and exert a painful amount of force. This situation feels representative of her relationship as a whole: it’s love structured around masculine control and dominance.

When she rejects this forceful encounter and engages in self-defense, he ends up ripping his entire hand apart. He’s “forced” to move his hand away after being stabbed and gets it cut apart because of her. If she hadn’t put the knife in, then his hand would be normal. She gives him the foot injury when she runs Geoffrey over when trying to escape the situation he’s created. Rinse and repeat.

Once the quadruple male-birthing sequence is over, she confronts her husband again and is made to take responsibility for his death. And now, depending on interpretation, she has done that by directly “causing” the wounds this time around.