Sandman: where do the three eve stories come from?

[junediamanti]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" <timregan at m...> 
wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> Having read (well listened to) Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" 
(great 
> book) and read his "Coraline" to my kids (wonderfully creative 
book, 
> not quite as well written) I'm reading the works that first made 
him 
> famous, his Sandman comics. They are now sold as ten graphic 
novels. 
> They are fabulous – and you can see loads of the plot ideas he 
uses 
> later tried out first.
> 
> Now to my question.
> 
> In book VI "Fables and Reflections" (my favourite of the series) 
the 
> baby Daniel goes to Abel's house in The Dreaming and everyone 
tells 
> him a story. Eve (who now lives in a cave in The Dreaming) tells 
him 
> that there were three Eves, three wives of Adam. The first was 
made 
> of dust, like Adam, but proves too spirited for him so they 
separate 
> and she goes off to consort with demons. The second was 
constructed 
> from flesh and bone, and having seen what lies beneath her skin 
> during the construction process, Adam is too put-off to love her; 
so 
> she stays a virgin. No-one knows where she went. Third time lucky. 
> God uses one of Adam's ribs and we have the Eve story I'm familiar 
> with.
> 
> Where do the first two stories come from? Did Gaiman make them up 
> (they don't feel like he did)?
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Dumbledad.

The source, I read in in interview with Neil, is the Talmud.

June