What does The Garden of Eden represent

The Garden of Eden itself symbolized man before original sin when he was at one with nature and himself; it is an unattainable Paradise for mankind to strive for. The tragedy of Eden is that it exists in the past and man is forever moving forward and thus further away from it. Atwood suggests that the only way to attain Eden is for mankind to complete their fall and be destroyed. Then the remnants of mankind will dwell once more in Paradise.