Psychosocial
Psychologists and therapists have used the story of Cain and Abel as a guide to understanding sibling-related psychological phenomena; these include sibling rivalry, estrangement, and conflict. Different interpretations of the story are brought about by social motivations and potential psychological analysis. Cain could have other psychological ideals that differ from what most have assumed were his motivations for fratricide.
Psychologists, such as Jeanne Safer, use the story of Cain and Abel as a foundational basis to the causes of the rivalry and conflict between siblings. Safer does not have any theological ties, and she focuses on relationships from a purely psychological perspective, but draws from a very well known biblical tradition. She examines the relationships between family members, the feelings of rejection that Cain felt from God, and the jealousy that inherently exists between siblings. Many people would look at their own relationships with siblings as very different from that of Cain and Abel. However, several psychologists look to the story of Cain and Abel to help explain the traditions of sibling and familial relationships. When studying the relationships that one has with their family members, it is important to look towards the traditional conception of familial love and acceptance.
If Cain had met with a therapist, what could the session have looked like? One author and therapist, Alix Pirani, creates a fiction narrative in order to greater understand Cain’s potential psychological ailments. Cain could have been a depressed young man who did not have a handle on his emotions and frustrations; his jealousy towards Abel could have motivated this murder. The “grandfather” figure of God seemed to favor Abel’s herding abilities over Cain’s farm work. A possibly enraged Cain began thinking of his rival brother, Abel, being dead. Pirani writes, "If they only knew what goes through my imagination -how I've thought of getting rid of Abel - fascinating, all the ways you can dispose of someone.” (Pirani, 13) There could have been much more background drama going on in the family that caused him to feel this way. Because of these potential feelings, Cain killed his brother and released his pent up violence and frustration. Envy was a large aspect of the dynamic of this family as well as the inability to truly love one another because of the constant sense of competition. This version of Cain and Abel is heavily metaphoric with the use of a “grandfather” instead of God and a fake therapy session, however it does give a potentially a further explanation as to why Cain killed Abel. The theme of this therapy visit shows that maybe there was more the the story of Cain and Abel then the traditional themes of the bible presents. This idea is parallel to the thesis that maybe there are more psychological issues present in Cain’s mind than originally told in the bible story.
Richard Hughes focuses on the specific complex formed by Cain (coined the Cain Complex). Hughes defines this as a son who hates the brother but loves the father. In this instance, it deals with rejection from the father (God), when one brother is favored over the other. Cain reacted in a violent and passionate manner, becoming instinctive and savage. When Cain killed Abel, he struggled to deal with his frustrations, according to Hughes: “Cain was the least successful because he reacts with raw homicidal emotions. But his choice of primitive emotions bears a lethality, followed by guilt and the dread of punishment.” (Hughes, 8) This underlines Cain’s character and the complex he inspires. Cain vied for his father’s attention and when his brother was shown as the favorite, his frustrations got the best of him and he murdered Abel. To contrast, Abel is shown to be calm and collected, an ultimate antithesis of Cain. With this divide, this complex gives a glimpse into an interesting psychological composition based off the story, applicable to contemporary life.
Mayer Gruber presents another interesting perspective on the story of Cain and Abel as he considers depression as the driving force behind the sibling rivalry rather than rage or anger. This view gives us a look into the psychological view of pieces of the Bible, and Gruber presents the unpopular opinion that Cain may have acted out of “malady” or disease, rather than the “demonic possession” he was often accused of by ancient readers of this text. Nonverbal communication is where Gruber attained his diagnosis of Cain’s depression, looking beyond his words and taking into account his expression of emotions by means of gestures, postures, and facial expression. (Gruber, 94-95) He focuses greatly on the description of Cain’s “fallen” face, leading him to assume that Cain was depressed rather than merely angry. While it is true that Cain had anger, his anger could have been deeper than this. Gruber argues that Cain’s case, “suggests an intuitive grasp of a thesis advanced early in this century by Karl Abraham and Sigmund Freud, namely, that depression is anger turned inward upon the self.” (Gruber, 92) Gruber accuses readers and interpreters of glossing over the differences between anger and depression, expressing that it is unfair to belittle Cain’s potential psychological state and assume his actions stemmed from nothing more than anger. To further support his claim, Gruber talks about how rejection can affect the self-esteem and mental stability of an individual, which is very applicable to Cain’s case. Cain’s offering is rejected by one of the most important people in his life- The Lord. When the one person he wanted approval from did not accept him, it greatly degraded him and his self-esteem, driving his depression. The disapproval he received from a father figure in his life likely cause him to take out his deep rooted feelings on someone close to him, his brother, leading to the idea of sibling rivalry.
There is a traditional idea that sons have always been trying to live up to the standards set for them by their fathers, often, only to be rejected and at times even ridiculed. From a more contemporary perspective, we have begun to have a deeper sense of human emotion and the implications of rejection, jealousy, and homicidal/suicidal thoughts. The story of Cain and Abel, from a psychologist's point of view, highlights the tradition of masculinity and relationships with one’s own family. As a society, we now have the ability to look towards ancient traditions such as biblical stories and analyze the impact that they’ve had on the world as a whole, and on individuals. For years, familial relationships have been molded by the bible and its stories. Cain and Abel is an example of how the Bible can change the way we look at human emotions or worldly events.
Today, we look at human emotions from a much more understanding and benevolent perspective, whereas 50 years ago those emotions might have been looked at through a more religious perspective. The moral that many have drawn from Cain and Abel is that jealousy and envy can lead to mortal sins like murder. In today’s world, we tend to look for the underlying psychosocial causes of sin/wrongdoing rather than assuming jealousy or envy is the root cause. Because of psychology’s many advancements, we are more apt to take a step back, examine what might have led to today’s phenomena, and come to our own measured conclusions.