Netflix's Sympathetic Portrayal of Cathy Ames Betrays Steinbeck's Moral Vision in East of Eden
Source: Liza Libes. "East Of Eden Villain Is A Netflix Hero Because She Has No Sexual Mores." September 30, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that Netflix's new adaptation of 'East of Eden' is doing a disservice to Steinbeck's novel by trying to make the villain Cathy Ames sympathetic, when Steinbeck clearly intended her to be portrayed as purely evil. She argues this reflects a broader cultural problem where we've become so accepting of sexual deviance that we can no longer recognize genuine evil when we see it.
Conclusion
Netflix's 'East of Eden' adaptation, by portraying villain Cathy Ames sympathetically, undermines and betrays Steinbeck's original moral message that some things are purely evil and should not be excused.
Premises
- Steinbeck explicitly wrote Cathy as a 'monster' with a 'malformed soul,' describing her as representative of Satan and possessed by the devil, leaving no ambiguity about her nature as evil.
- Cathy's defining characteristic is sexual sadism, demonstrated through incidents like framing boys for rape at age 10 and running a brothel where she turns torture into a business.
- The show's creators (Zoe Kazan and Florence Pugh) have explicitly stated their intent was to make audiences sympathize with and 'fall in love' with Cathy rather than see her as a monster.
- Steinbeck's core thematic message is that individuals have the power to choose good over evil regardless of their circumstances, and Cathy's evil is a choice, not an inevitable product of trauma.
- Contemporary culture has normalized and rebranded sexual deviance (e.g., 'sex work,' 'kink'), making audiences and creators less able to recognize Cathy's sexual sadism as evil.
- Public reaction to the promotional clip (1.6 million views but fewer than 400 likes) suggests audiences reject the sympathetic reframing of Cathy.
- Great literature's enduring value comes from its moral clarity and lessons about how to live, which this adaptation forfeits by introducing false moral ambiguity.
Assumptions
- Adaptations of literary works have an obligation to preserve the original author's moral framework and intent.
- Moral clarity (clear categories of good and evil) is more valuable than moral complexity or ambiguity in storytelling.
- Sympathetic portrayal of a villain necessarily undermines the audience's ability to recognize the character's evil.
- Cultural shifts in how we discuss sexuality (e.g., 'sex work,' 'kink') represent a moral decline rather than neutral or positive change in language/understanding.
- Low 'likes' relative to views on a social media clip is a valid proxy for broad audience sentiment or rejection of the show's approach.
- An author's private letters (e.g., Steinbeck calling Cathy 'representative of Satan') should govern how adaptations interpret ambiguous textual elements.