After the scandal, he felt he carried the mark of Cain wherever he went.
the mark of Cain
idiomA visible stigma that marks someone out as guilty or disgraced.
Origin
After Cain murders his brother Abel, God condemns him to wander the earth. Cain protests that anyone who finds him will kill him, and in Genesis 4:15 God places a mark on him — not as a brand of shame, but as protection, a warning that whoever kills Cain will suffer sevenfold vengeance.
The original text is careful and a little mysterious: it never says what the mark looked like, and it functions as a safeguard rather than a punishment. Centuries of retelling reversed the emphasis, turning a mark of divine protection into a mark of guilt.
That later reading is the one English kept. The mark of Cain now means a visible stigma of wrongdoing — a sign, real or figurative, that brands someone as a criminal or an outcast.
A criminal record can be a mark of Cain, following people into every job interview for years.
The whistleblower was vindicated in court, yet the mark of Cain lingered in the industry, where nobody wanted to hire someone known for talking.
Genesis 1–4: the making of the world, Eden, and the first family.
- 01
forbidden fruit (idiom)
Illicit pleasure.
- 02
my brother's keeper (idiom)
Responsible for the welfare of another person — most often used when denying that responsibility.
- 03
let there be light (idiom)
A phrase marking the start of something new, or a moment of sudden clarity.
- 04
by the sweat of your brow (idiom)
Through hard physical labour and personal effort.
- 05
fig-leaf (word)
A small or flimsy thing used to hide something embarrassing or shameful.