>>In both accounts, the source of man's woes is the female

Jazzy, I've always thought it was because until very recently, sociologically speaking, it was the men who had all the power: the power to rule, the power to make his wishes (such as telling a story and making it come out the way HE wanted it to, never mind what really happened) predominate, and later the power of having the ability to read and write when most women did not, thus furthering his ability to relate "HIS"tory!