Inverse relationship

Enkidu’s moral development begins with the beginning of his transformation from a beast to a man. As he develops, he begins with a strong sense of justice and right and wrong. However, it is interesting to notice how as he develops more and more as a man he regresses morally, first culminating in his urging of Gilgamesh to ignore Umbaba’s please for mercy and to kill him. When one first reads this, it is a stark difference from the compassionate, almost naïve Enkidu who was so moral earlier. This could be interpreted as an interesting commentary on human nature, as the development of humanity is inversely proportional, at a certain point, to moral development.

The next incident in which Enkidu seems to act especially immorally is when he curses the prostitute who began his process of becoming human, despite the fact that she nurtured and took care of him. It seems that not only has Enkidu become immoral, he has become completely opposed to the idea of morality in general, cursing the fact that he was ever endowed with it. However, he is suddenly inspired to have a change of heart by Shamash. Though he understands that his impending death is a part of the humanity he developed, Shamash reminds him that this does not diminish the gift Shamat, the prostitute, gave to him. His death is actually his glorification. This change of heart fits in with the inverse relationship between humanity and morality. Only as he is dying, as his humanity is leaving him, does he begin to return to morality.