gengwall

Kay – I have heard a semi-parallel interpretation, in that it is the “pain” in raising children in a fallen world. In that way, it is less universally female (certainly men are involved in such activities), but still possibly a burden borne more by women than men. Likewise, the burden of wrestling with the soil, while not universally male, is somewhat borne more by males. I know that such ideas raise a whole other boat load of concerns, caveats, and complaints, but they are part of the whole interpretive melieu.