Cain (Genesis 4,1-16)

His presence in the Literature

Abstract

One of the recent advances in Biblical science is the
study of the impact of the Bible in the history of culture and literature in particular. This article analyzes the reasons behind of the marked interest in the figure of Cain in the 19th century and its relationship with fundamental themes of the Illustration and romanticism. With the triumph of the French Revolution emerges a sense of social rebellion that claims the figure of Cain. This will no longer be the incarnation of the sinner, but, on the contrary, the figure of the hero who rebels against a unfair tyranny. This article studies this turn in the understanding of the character and the way in which social reality influences the shaping of religious ideas.