Editing East of Eden (novel) (section)

== Development history ==
As he wrote the novel, Steinbeck went through a number of possible titles for the book, including "The Salinas Valley", the working title from the beginning; "My Valley", after a Texas businessman suggested he make it more universal; "Down to the Valley"; and then, after he decided to incorporate the Biblical allusion directly into the title, "Cain Sign". It was only upon transcribing the 16 verses of Cain and Abel in the text itself that he enthusiastically took the last three words of the final verse, ''East of Eden'':

"And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden." (Genesis 4:16)

Steinbeck wrote to a friend after completing his manuscript, "I finished my book a week ago. [...] Much the longest and surely the most difficult work I have ever done... I have put all the things I have wanted to write all my life. This is 'the book.' If it is not good I have fooled myself all the time. I don't mean I will stop but this is a definite milestone and I feel released. Having done this I can do anything I want. Always I had this book waiting to be written."<ref name="Benson, Jackson J. 1990 p. 697">{{cite book|first=Jackson J.|last=Benson|title=John Steinbeck, a Writer: a Biography|date=December 1990 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|location=London, England|page=697|isbn=978-0140144178}}</ref>