A new adaptation of John Steinbeck's 1952 novel East of Eden is coming to Netflix. The series, which premieres on October 1, stars Christopher Abbott, Florence Pugh, Mike Faist, and Hoon Lee.
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It's always challenging to translate a good book to the screen, and East of Eden may be particularly difficult to bring to life. It's an epic novel that follows generations of two families, and Steinbeck considered it his magnum opus. The most famous prior adaptation of the novel, made in 1955, focused only on the last sections of the book and still clocked in at 117 minutes.
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Now, even though the newest adaptation hasn't hit streaming yet, some fans of the book are worried after hearing Florence Pugh's comments on her character.
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Florence stars as Cathy Ames, the mother of twin sons Caleb and Aron. Her character is generally read as the antagonist of the novel, and often described as an embodiment of evil.
Speaking to InStyle, Florence said, "I think with Cathy, I’ve been given the honor of playing someone that has, for many decades, been listed as a villain — or as bad, or as evil."
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She went on to say, "And looking at it from our perspective, from women that really want to understand other women, there’s a bit of context, there’s motive. There’s understanding behind the woman that she is and the decisions that she makes. That’s been the most exciting thing for me to find and figure out and learn: who is that woman?"
Florence went on to say, "I think I’ve always been interested in women that are fighting. Women that are pushing against what they know and what they’re being forced to know."
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"I think it’s something that we all similarly feel like we’re probably living through in our lifetimes," she said. "They may not be as dramatic or as drastic as the characters that I’m playing and the decisions that they’re making, but I feel like most women have an understanding of what it feels like to push back. And it’s something that I love to find—I love to feel."
In response, some fans of the book worried that the new adaptation might veer too far from the source material. One redditor wrote, "Noooo, let us have our unhinged Cathy. She is BAD. Yes, she lives through terrible things, but she is also bad news, always was, always will. She plays the devil's part in the book. Women can be monsters, too. We are people, we react and feel and love and hate like people do. I don’t like the tendency to overexplain or excuse women’s behavior to make it appear less « bad » or redeem it; it’s another way of othering them from the common human experience. We can be awesome, we can be terrible. Comes with the humanity."
One commenter replied, "THANK YOU. I love that Cathy doesn’t pretend to have some rich inner life. She doesn’t feel emotions the way we do, so she wouldn’t belabor her thoughts. It’s all quiet on the western front inside her mind until you interfere with her pure, undiluted want. If you get in her way, she’ll hurt you, but otherwise she’d be intensely boring. She wouldn’t have interests or hobbies. Except collecting dirt to continue her comfort or ease. She’s a pretty decently written psychopath."
Someone else agreed, " This does not give me hope. Please do not give me girlboss Cathy, I beg you."
On the other hand, another reader reflected, "Reading East of Eden right now, and a third through. Half the time I'm like 'being a woman during this time period is awful,' and the other half I'm like 'what the fuck, Cathy.' I think an already evil person going mad is what happens here."
Others chimed in to say that they hope Florence's performance brings nuance to the role without losing its darkness. "Hopefully it’s less ✨girlboss✨ and more an acknowledgment of the kind of circumstances that can make a woman like Cathy. Not to redeem her but to make her less flat."
Darn, I guess I'll just have to watch East of Eden ASAP to see Florence act her ass off for myself.
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Have you ever read East of Eden? Let us know what you think about Florence's take in the comments!