Genesis 3:16

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

1. Although the LORD God gave Eve consequences for her disobedience, He didn't characterize them as a curse.
2. Pregnancy and delivery for Eve (and presumably other women to follow) would become a painful process. The wording "multiply thy sorrow and thy conception" is interesting, suggesting that perhaps the length of a pregnancy or something else about it was to be increased.
3. Eve's desire would be to her husband. I don't completely understand this, but I think it may be a reason why women have the reputation for their ability to take a mediocre man and help him be successful. They are also famous for their loyalty and dedication to men, even when they are abused and otherwise mistreated.
4. Adam was to rule over Eve. This is perhaps where patriarchal rule originated. What type of rule isn't specified, nor is "over" defined. It may simply mean "at a higher level", or that God would deal with the man and let him deal with his family - in other words, establishing a chain of command between God and each individual. Judging from how the LORD God dealt with Adam and Eve during this period of time, which would be Adam's only example to follow, it didn't mean being abusive, angry, impatient or removing Eve's power to choose or answer for herself. It could be construed to mean Adam could give Eve commandments and consequences if she disobeyed, but this seems to conflict with the idea that she was given to him to be a help or companion, not a servant, which role the LORD God doesn't appear to change. In short, it appears to me that the wife would become an even greater blessing to the husband than she was before, and would suffer for it - all the more reason for the man to appreciate, respect and love her, something too many husbands throughout the world fail to do. Of course, not all wives live up to this standard either. If both did, what a better place this would be.