The Cain And Abel Syndrome

There is a strange observation though not that unobvious we might get to see around these days... the ‘Cain and Abel Syndrome' as I would like to call it, that exists amongst brothers.

The Biblical story of Cain and Abel, where Cain and Abel were the first children of Adam and Eve, born after the Fall of Man; Cain gets so mad of the partiality shown on his brother by Mr. Adam which eventually leads to Cain killing Abel out of jealousy and the entire jing-bang getting exiled out of the Garden of Eden by God the Great…

Often this story is quoted by mothers in the Christian families to reinstall a brotherly acceptance amongst the siblings. Yet, the twist in the story is that children born out of the same womb can be so different not just in a story yet also in real… there will be this one delicate son, so domesticated and dutiful and the other so reckless, wild and irresponsible, the nurtured being the former and the natural being the later, the goody good guy and the bad ass so to say. No matter how many times the story is repeated by tireless mothers, nature somehow makes this syndrome persist to make this story applicable to the contemporary scenario.

Any family where I get to see two boys, I look for the obviously good one who will be helping the mom with her daily chores, living in a tidy room, with a smile that stretches to his ears, all so clean and reserved with no marks or scars of life whatsoever left to be seen or quite cleverly keeping his evil canary side hidden. And then I look for the rogue; the rogue who would be missing and of all chances gone on an expedition or some secret-pack meeting of some sort. The fellow who would have enough scars that could tell countless stories, the ruthlessly straight forward one-the uncouthed. The one you are often glad wasn’t there and you hadn’t met.

However, this yin-yang exists within every human being as well; making one a carrier of the good and the bad. This is something similar to the anima-animus; where there are subtle female characters that exist in the male and vice versa. How strange and interesting this dual personality that keeps the suspense alive in those who see the complicated display of the characters arising from within, all in one soul. At times it is so refreshing to see the streak of goodness in the so called bad guy and the subtle display of a sinister role from a so called good guy. This is not odd at all. Sometimes when nature and nurture collides, the defense mechanism that arises to survive this battle and to accept the survivor is what makes us who we are. This constant battle fought everyday between what we label “good” and “evil/bad”, the values we learn, create and as often manipulate to suit our situation to try and live a guilt-free life as far as possible is almost an everyday battle in this war of life. Cain or Abel at the end of the day, one must realize that the Garden of Eden, the paradise of Earth, is not for either and neither for long…

P.C: painting by William Bouguereau