East of Eden Summary and Complete Study Guide

The novel's conclusion focuses on Adam Trask's final moments and his relationship with Cal, who is consumed by guilt over Aron's death. Cal had taken Aron to meet their mother Cathy at the brothel where she works as a madam, destroying Aron's innocent illusions. Unable to handle the truth that their mother is an evil prostitute rather than the angelic dead woman he'd imagined, Aron enlisted in the Army and was sent to France, where he was killed in combat. The telegram announcing Aron's death triggers Adam's massive stroke, leaving him paralyzed and unable to speak. Cal believes he murdered his brother as surely as Cain murdered Abel. He's convinced he inherited his mother Cathy's evil nature and is doomed to destroy everyone he loves. Cal's guilt and self-loathing are so severe he can barely function. Meanwhile, Cathy herself commits suicide shortly after her final meeting with Cal, unable to bear the possibility that her son might choose to be different from her—that he might have free will she doesn't believe exists. Lee, the Chinese servant who has become the family's moral philosopher, recognizes that Cal needs his father's blessing to escape the guilt and inherited evil. Lee has spent years studying the Genesis Cain and Abel story with Chinese scholars, discovering that the Hebrew word "timshel" means "thou mayest"—not "thou shalt" (you will) or "thou shalt not" (you must not), but "thou mayest" (you have the power to choose). This distinction is the novel's entire philosophy: humans are not doomed by their nature or family patterns; they have free will to choose their moral path. Lee brings Cal to Adam's bedside. Adam lies paralyzed, unable to move or speak, apparently unaware of his surroundings. Cal confesses everything to his dying father: how he rejected Adam's love as a child, how he took Aron to meet Cathy, how this destroyed Aron and led to his death, how Cal believes he's evil like his mother. Cal begs for his father's blessing but doesn't expect to receive it—he believes he's killed his brother and doesn't deserve redemption. Abra, Aron's former girlfriend who now loves Cal, tells Adam that Cal is begging for his love. She demands that Adam give Cal the blessing he needs. Lee adds pressure: "Give him your blessing. Don't leave him alone with his guilt." Adam, with monumental effort, fights against his paralysis to communicate. He struggles to move his hand, to make a sign, to give Cal what he needs. Finally, after great effort, Adam manages to speak. His lips form one word, barely audible: "Timshel." This single word contains everything: permission to choose goodness despite guilt, freedom from inherited sin, blessing from the father Cal desperately needed, and validation that free will exists even for those who believe they're doomed to evil. Adam has given Cal what his own father Cyrus never gave him—the freedom to choose his own path. The novel ends with Lee whispering "He's free. Timshel! Thou mayest!" as Adam dies. Cal has received his blessing. He's not doomed by his mother's evil or his guilt over Aron's death. He may choose to be good. The cycle of inherited sin and rejected sons is broken through Adam's final act of love—giving Cal the free will and permission to be different, to choose his path, to overcome his nature through choice. This ending is Steinbeck's answer to the question posed throughout the novel: Are we doomed by our parents' sins and our own inherited nature, or can we choose differently? The answer is timshel—thou mayest. We have the power to choose. Cal isn't forgiven—his brother is still dead, his guilt is still real—but he's freed from the belief that he was predetermined to evil. That freedom to choose is the novel's redemption and gift. It's saying that no matter how dark your inheritance, no matter how deep your guilt, you still have the power to choose goodness. It won't erase what you've done, but it offers the possibility of becoming someone different from what you feared you were doomed to be.