In Valerie Saiving’s “The Human Condition,” she argues sin is not identically structured for both women and men. She refutes Niebuhr’s theory of intellectual pride by tracing the developmental patterns of genders. While men’s sins can be categorized as “prideful” or “boastful,” women’s sins are formed in the absence of pride. When women refute their feminine identities, they ignore their predispositions, causing them to negatively transform a positive reinforcer to a sinful catalyst.
Personally, I have seen Saiving’s concept reveal itself within my life. Growing up, my mother didn’t work; instead, she stayed at home, took care of our animals (an iguana, a ferret, five birds, two dogs, one turtle, and a fish), drove carpools, and cooked dinner. Like Saiving points out, “she accept[ed] the feminine role with joy, enabl[ing] her to be a source of strength and refreshment to her husband, her children, and the wider community” (38). A mother of three daughters, my mother committed her life completely to us because “in infancy, the very existence of the child depends upon the mother’s ability to transcend her own patterns of thought, feeling, and physical need” (36). My sisters and I became her life’s essence, and she did not seek a job because it would have taken time away from us. As a result, her feminine values allowed her to display her personality by nurturing others with patience and love. She viewed her motherhood as a privilege, rather than her job.
However, my parents got divorced, and with no prior work experience, my mom struggled to obtain a lucrative job. As a result, she abandoned her predispositions, regarding them as evil because they deemed her history “unprofitable” in society. She felt as if she was, “merely an emptiness, almost a zero, without value to herself, [and] to her fellow men” (37). Her lack of success made her feel inferior to others, and as a result, her insecurity in her past caused her to be apprehensive about femininity. Saiving points out that such events, “occasion anxiety for the girl and thus might seem to be the female equivalent of the constant anxiety regarding his maleness which besets the boy” (27). After some time, she re-married and became financially and emotionally dependent on her new husband. She began to work for his office and relied on him for her identity. She became a robot--“her tendency to merge her selfhood in the joys, sorrows, hopes, and problems of those around her…[took] the negative form of…dependence on others (such as husband or children)” (38). She adopted her husband’s morals, standards of living, and religious values. As Saiving points out, “Sin is the self’s attempt to overcome that anxiety by magnifying its own power, righteousness, or knowledge” (26). Whereas she once treasured her feminine identity, now she criticizes stay-at-home mothers for their naivety and old-fashioned practices.
Saiving’s theory draws a close parallel with my mother. While she used to be enabled by her gender, now she fights against nature and her femininity disables her. Personally, Saiving’s concept of sin helps me to recognize the relationship between men and women. Women are often criticized for their role as housewives, and some criticize women for not being equal to men. I recognize that equality is the not the question; women and men are incomparable because they have different physiologically predispositions. Instead of viewing women’s dispositions as a burden, I can rejoice in the positive qualities that come with being a woman.
Saiving, Valerie. Human Situation: A Feminine View. Harper & Row, Publishers. 1979
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