The way to the Tree of Life was barred, symbolizing that it was no longer possible for people to approach God and to claim the right to live in eternal, close communion with Him. Eternal Life was removed as an option for them. The Humanity - Creation relationship was tarnished. Raping creation instead of managing it. And the Man - Woman relationship.
Woman is cast down and dominated by man.
The seeds of abuse begin right here. Millennia of patriarchal social structures find their root here. Conflict instead of support. The close sharing is gone. Praise God, then, that the story doesn't end here.