A Little Lilith In Us All

Lilith is (in some religious text and folktales) the woman who God created before he made Eve. Unlike Eve, Lilith came from the dirt just like Adam. She was made as Adam's equal, but Adam didn't want an equal. Instead he wanted her to be subservient and she refused. Lilith then flew out of the Garden of Eden. God then sent some Angels to convince her to go back. However, Lilith refused and was given a horrible punishment which involved hurting children.

After God created Adam, who was alone, He said, 'It is not good for man to be alone.' He then created a woman for Adam, from the earth, as He had created Adam himself, and called her Lilith. Adam and Lilith immediately began to fight. She said, 'I will not lie below,' and he said, 'I will not lie beneath you, but only on top. For you are fit only to be in the bottom position, while I am to be the superior one.' Lilith responded, 'We are equal to each other inasmuch as we were both created from the earth.' But they would not listen to one another. When Lilith saw this, she pronounced the Ineffable Name and flew away into the air.

Adam stood in prayer before his Creator: 'Sovereign of the universe!' he said, 'the woman you gave me has run away.' At once, the Holy One, blessed be He, sent these three angelsSenoy, Sansenoy, and Semangelof, to bring her back.

Said the Holy One to Adam, 'If she agrees to come back, what is made is good. If not, she must permit one hundred of her children to die every day.' The angels left God and pursued Lilith, whom they overtook in the midst of the sea, in the mighty waters wherein the Egyptians were destined to drown. They told her God's word, but she did not wish to return. The angels said, 'We shall drown you in the sea.’

'Leave me!' she said. 'I was created only to cause sickness to infants. If the infant is male, I have dominion over him for eight days after his birth, and if female, for twenty days.’

When the angels heard Lilith's words, they insisted she go back. But she swore to them by the name of the living and eternal God: 'Whenever I see you or your names or your forms in an amulet, I will have no power over that infant.' She also agreed to have one hundred of her children die every day. Accordingly, every day one hundred demons perish, and for the same reason, we write the angels' names on the amulets of young children. When Lilith sees their names, she remembers her oath, and the child recovers.
-- via wikipedia

Lilith was strong, determined, and refused to be less than anyone else. She was so stuck in her own ways she abandoned paradise to do her own thing. Many of us have her characteristics. We are raised to be strong and independent. We are raised to not take bullshit from anyone. We are raised to think that we are right even when we are wrong. There are times when we do back down and let someone else win the battle. We could get that from Lilith too. In the end she did listen to God when it came to her punishment.