Nina Astorino
Throughout history, humanity has been obsessed with the idea of sin, an obsession which spans from most traditional religions to many works of literature and film. Original sin in the Christian doctrine refers to the story in Genesis depicting the Fall of humankind when Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. This depiction predominately blames Eve for the Fall, as it is she who first eats the fruit after Satan tricks her. In 1667, John Milton retold the story of Creation, adding his own fictional background to the story of Genesis, in his epic poem Paradise Lost. Milton makes Eve more sympathetic than she is in Genesis. In the elevation of Eve’s story and the degradation of Adam, Milton criticizes the misogyny prevalent at the time and supports printed assertions against the anti-women standards prevalent in the 1600s.
Milton’s Eve reflects a stance of gender equality in his depiction of her confession and of God’s reaction to it. After the Fall, God questions the couple about why they have disobeyed him. In the poem, Milton quotes the Bible nearly word-for-word as Eve takes the leadership role and accepts responsibility for her actions, confessing to God, “The serpent me beguiled, and I did eat” (10.162). This is a noble act that pleases God, as even in sin, she remains devout and honest. Stella P. Revard asserts the underlying equality shown in the way God delegates blame for the Fall: “[God] neither suggests that she is only partially to blame nor treats her as a creature unable to shoulder the burden of her act and its consequences” (70-71). Revard’s interpretation of the text highlights Eve’s strength in remaining devout and honest with God. Milton, who here and elsewhere uses Eve’s words from Genesis, apparently does not need to add dramatic context in order to develop her as a more likeable character and for the reader to respect Eve’s goodness in response to God.
Another way that Milton makes a case for women is through the creation of an Adam more flawed than the biblical Adam. While the faults of Eve are often well documented and frequently cited as character defects in all women, Adam is far from perfect despite his supposedly elevated status over Eve. Adam acts out of regret for his actions, as he must now suffer alongside Eve. In Genesis, Adam says to God, “The women whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (3.12).¹ In the Bible, Adam refers to Eve as the gift from God, though he places the blame on Eve; however, in Paradise Lost, Milton expands Adam’s response to God, blaming Eve and God and suggesting that God’s “perfect gift” was beyond suspicion:
This woman whom Thou mad’st to be my help
And gav’st me as Thy perfect gift so good,
So fit, so acceptàble, so divine
That from her hand I could suspect no ill,
And what she did, whatever in itself,
Her doing seemed to justify the deed,
She gave me of the tree and I did eat (10.137-143).
In both passages, Adam blames not only Eve but also God for their Fall since God created Eve. In contrast to Milton’s treatment of Eve’s confession, which only uses biblical language, this expansion of Genesis more directly shows Adam questioning God’s perfection, making Adam more flawed.
Milton creates a more damaging mark against Adam’s character. As God further questions Adam on the events leading up to the Fall, the reader knows Adam is lying to God about what happened. Adam claims that he suspected “no ill” from Eve before the Fall, but the reader knows that he did. Right before Adam and Eve separate, they have an argument during which Adam states, “But bid her well beware and still erect / Lest by some fair appearing good surprised / She dìctate false and misinform the will / To do what God expressly hath forbid” (9.353-356). Adam is clearly concerned that Eve will believe false information and disobey God, which shows a perceived fault in her character. The fact that Adam believes Eve capable of sin is not surprising; however, it raises the question of why he does not attempt to stop Eve. If Adam is supposed to be “the goodliest man of men” (4.323), “[innumerably] ordained” (8.297), with “true authority in men” (4.295), then he should do all he can to prevent evil, especially if he believes Eve is a danger to herself. Adam’s choice to blame Eve for the Fall shows a lack of accountability for his own inaction.
In addition, though Adam had been concerned that Eve would fall, when Eve asks Adam to eat the fruit with her, she tells him, “On my experience, Adam, freely taste,” and Adam eats the apple (9.988). Adam appears to trust her not because of what she says, but due to the knowledge he believes she possesses, despite Adam knowing that eating the fruit may be a spiritual death sentence. According to Kat Lecky, “Milton’s emphasis on Eve’s experience complicates misogynist interpretations by speaking to a seventeenth-century culture in which ‘experience . . . was everywhere exalted.’” (453).² During Milton’s time, women were rarely given formal positions of power; however, Milton chooses to show that Eve’s experience and knowledge of the Garden is substantial enough that, despite any concerns Adam may have, he trusts her and follows in her footsteps.
Not all scholars have agreed that Milton’s depiction of Eve advocates the equality of women. According to Sandra Gilbert, “The story that Milton, [whom Virginia Woolf called] ‘the first of the masculinists,’ most notably tells to women is, of course, the story of woman’s secondness, her otherness, and how otherness leads inexorably to her demonic anger, her sin, her Fall, and her exclusion from the garden of the gods.” (370). Similarly, other critics have interpreted Milton’s Eve as a lesser character who symbolizes the biblical tradition of viewing women as the root of sin and reinforcing the patriarchal, sexist view of women at this time. This view is understandable, as, during the time that Paradise Lost was written, women had few rights and were treated as less than men. However, Milton engages with a well-known biblical story that maintains underlying sexist undertones and infuses a dimension and character development that makes Eve more sympathetic than she is in Genesis while diminishing the likeability of the traditional male heroes, God and Adam. Furthermore, I disagree with Gilbert that Paradise Lost is about women’s secondness. While the text aligns with the biblical tale that she is made from Adam second, Eve is shown to be more knowledgeable about the Garden. Also, when she is tricked, she remains honest and devout, admitting her mistakes and taking accountability for her actions. The depiction of Milton’s Eve is not always favorable, but it shows that she is genuine and human.
While many readers have criticized Milton’s depiction of Eve in comparison to her biblical counterpart, people striving for equality for women within the modern Church of England have used the overlapping lines of Paradise Lost and Genesis to show that women can be held accountable for their actions. A modern interpretation of Adam and Eve’s confessions to God has been put forth by Monica Furlong, writer and campaigner for women’s status in the twentieth-century Anglican church. Furlong points out, “When accused by God of having broken the commandment he had given them, Eve blamed the serpent, and Adam, refusing to take any responsibility for his own action, blamed Eve” (17). In addition, this scene raises the issue that while Adam is supposed to be the better of the two, acting as the moral compass for them both, he allows his desires to overpower his reasoning. Furlong’s elevation of Eve for taking accountability for her actions, even though Eve could have blamed Adam or her perceived ignorance for her own sins, is similar to Milton’s elevation of Eve in Paradise Lost.
Many Milton scholars interpret Milton’s characterization of Eve as opposed to the Eve presented in Genesis. Barbara Lewalski explains that even when Eve is blamed for solely causing their Fall, she responds admirably: “Eve responds first to ‘prevenient grace’ [11.3], and so first breaks out of the seemingly endless cycle of accusations and recriminations, becoming the human means to lead Adam back from the paralysis of despair to love, repentance, and reconciliation first with his wife and then with God” (473). Significantly, her bringing the couple back together and onto the path to redemption with God establishes Eve in a position of power, as one capable of solving problems, which contradicted gender norms that dictated that men, and by default Adam, should be those to solve life’s problems.
Moreover, it is important to distinguish Eve, whom Satan manipulates into sin, and Adam, who blindly follows another human into sin rather than being tricked. Milton’s Eve is not perfect by any means. She is a mere mortal, vain and lacking proper reasoning skills at times. Her vanity is evident from the very beginning when Eve pines over her own reflection, crooning, “Pleased it returned as soon with answering looks / Of sympathy and love. There I had fixed / Mine eyes till now and pined with vain desire” (4.464-466). Throughout the poem, Milton indicates possible signs of trouble regarding Eve. Satan specifically targets Eve, knowing that tricking her will be easier when Adam is not with her; however, none of these character traits attributed to Eve in Paradise Lost are present in Genesis. She is deceived in both stories, but it only takes Eve’s asking to convince Adam to join her in disobeying God. Eve is supposed to answer to Adam (“she for God in him”), while Adam is “for God only” (4.299). Adam does not abide by this command when he listens to Eve, even though it is against God’s will. Adam suffers as a result, and in this sense, it is Adam’s failure, not Eve’s, that brings the downfall of humanity.
At the time when Milton wrote Paradise Lost, the seventeenth-century mainstream Christian Church prevented women from having leadership roles due to the way the Eve of Genesis is interpreted, which is different than how Eve is portrayed in Paradise Lost and which points to the misogyny prevalent during Milton’s time. The biblical injunction states, “Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Timothy 2.11-14). The Bible here claims Adam is not deceived, which apparently means he chooses to fall, but this is not the problem; the problem is that Eve is deceived. As a result of this sort of bias against women, it has been difficult for women to achieve places of power in the Christian Church.³
The underlying sexism in biblical stories and the blatant misogyny in the seventeenth-century mainstream Christian Church has carried on well beyond Milton’s time. For example, in 1916, George Tolman, a historical writer and preacher, spoke before The Concord Antiquarian Society, an organization which had been devoted to preserving local history since 1422, about how church officials have been overly critical of women. Tolman explained that he believes women should enhance their appearances, as much as is allowed by God’s will, which is arguably sexist; however, he acknowledges that women have been judged for improving their appearance as “the stricter portion of the people, and especially their spiritual leaders, did not look with favoring eyes upon these innocent feminine traits, and the pulpits and General Courts fulminated temporal and financial as eternal and spiritual penalties against their indulgence” (Tolman 16). From this, it is seen that women are criticized for enhancing their appearances and remaining natural, which is unfair to them. Although this speech was written long after the publication of Paradise Lost, one can see that Milton rejects this long-standing criticism of feminine traits in the seventeenth-century mainstream Christian Church by maintaining Eve’s beauty and desirability, as seen when Adam delights in “[b]oth of her beauty and submissive charms,” while keeping her as a more likable character than God or Adam (4.498).
Although the Bible and Paradise Lost are not the same, the two stories are often conflated, yet significant differences in details change the message of Milton’s epic. His additions alter how one views Adam and Eve. Shannon Miller highlights this difference when she argues that, “The protracted experience that Adam and Eve have in the Garden—rather than the almost immediate Fall conventionally represented within analogues—allowed Milton time to explore Eve’s character” (56). The development of Eve most dramatically sets Paradise Lost and the story of Genesis apart, changing her from the first woman who sins and disgraces humankind because she is tricked to a character with complex emotions and reasoning. Milton portrays her as one who makes a mistake but who is not solely responsible for humankind’s downfall. In addition, Mary Nyquist challenges the continued interchangeability of Paradise Lost with Genesis: “For in spite of the existence of scholarly studies of Genesis in its various exegetical traditions, the view that the relationship of Paradise Lost to Genesis is basically direct or at least unproblematically mediated continues to flourish” (101). The two texts are not the same and therefore not transitive. Nyquist’s interpretation that some readers unrightfully conflate Paradise Lost and the Bible to justify misogynistic interpretations of Paradise Lost reinforces Milton’s apparent condemnation of the misogyny Adam uses against Eve. The reader who finds Adam demeaning towards Eve and who judges him as a result is representative of the characterization of gender that Milton establishes.
Milton appears to side with women’s criticisms at the time through his depiction of the important males in the story, God and Adam. God is supposed to represent the ultimate good, but the God of Paradise Lost is not particularly likable. From the beginning, Milton makes Satan’s disdain for God clear, as Satan and his demons contemplate how they will get revenge against God. Alternatively, Milton presents an image of God that makes Satan’s anger seem justified, as the demons lament the dictatorship of God, while Satan, in contrast, appears to be a likable and often relatable character.
While the grievances against God are more subtle, Milton creates an Adam who is rude and demeaning. One example that shows Adam as the lesser person occurs after their Fall. Because Adam believes Eve is ungrateful that he fell for her, he becomes hateful towards her and once again lies, “What seem’d in thee so perfect that I thought / No evil durst attempt thee” (9.1179-1180). However, Adam previously had believed Eve was weak and could be corrupted by sin. Next, Milton describes Adam as moving beyond justifiable anger to foolish rudeness. Adam not only claims he regrets his actions and blames Eve but that he also condemns all women by saying,
Thus it shall befall
Him who to worth in women overtrusting
Lets her will rule! Restraint she will not brook
And left t’herself if evil thence ensue
She first his weak indulgence will accuse. (9.1182-1186)
Although this argument is exceptionally misogynistic, it may be that the reader is supposed to judge Adam for this sexism, as his argument over-generalizes to the point of being silly. Adam claims that all women are bad and will tempt men; however, Eve is the only woman he knows. He makes a broad generalization about half of the human race, most of which does not yet exist. We may be inclined to feel worse about Eve’s having to cope with Adam than we feel about Adam’s decision to fall for Eve or his regret for having done so.
In contrast to Milton’s characterization of Adam, his characterization of Eve highlights the good in women even though she is blamed for humankind’s downfall. Even worse than the underlying sexism that pervades society to this day, the sexism presented by Milton’s male characters reflects the time in which he wrote, as men excluded women from the Church and undermined their faith and actions. The writing of these individuals who spoke out against the anti-woman culture of the 1600s led to the development of modern women’s demands for equal rights. As a result, the modern feminist movement has been able to rise above Milton’s more subtle call for female empowerment to active protest and elected women in the government passing feminist reform. In keeping with Milton’s Eve and with other writers who championed women’s rights both then and now, there is still a long way to go until women are treated as true equals in literature and society.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Furlong, Monica. A Dangerous Delight: Women and Power in the Church. SPCK, 1992.
Gilbert, Sandra M. “Patriarchal Poetry and Women Readers: Reflections on Milton’s Bogey.” PMLA, vol. 93, no. 3, 1978, pp. 368–382. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/461860.
H., I. “Strange Wonder, Or, A Wonder in a Woman, Wherein Is Plainly Expressed the True Nature of Most Women: Especially of Some Eminent Women in This Citie. Likewise a Plaine Description of Many Mad Tricks and Slights Lately Performed By a Zealous Sister Which Was Overcome With the Spirit.” London, 1642. Early English Books Online, University of Louisiana at Lafayette Library, https://ezproxyprod.ucs.louisiana.edu:5339/eebo/docview/2240952873/226E22B7021742BCPQ/2/thumbnail?accountid=14566.
Lecky, Kat. “Milton’s Experienced Eve.” Philological Quarterly, vol. 96, no. 4, 2017, p. 453-474. Literature Resource Center, https://link-gale-com.prox.harpercollege.edu/apps/doc/A534565587/LitRC?u=pala97073&sid=LitRC&xid=cc439b71.
Lewalski, Barbara K. “‘Higher Argument’: Completing and Publishing Paradise Lost.” Teskey, pp. 466-76.
Miller, Shannon. “Serpentine Eve: Milton and the Seventeenth-Century Debate Over Women.” Milton Quarterly, Vol 42, no. 1, 2008.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1094-348X.2008.00182.x.
Nyquist, Mary. “The genesis of gendered subjectivity in the divorce tracts and in Paradise Lost.” Re-Membering Milton: Essays on the Texts and Traditions, ed. Mary Nyquist and Margaret W. Ferguson, Methuen, 1987.
https://pages.mtu.edu/~rlstrick/rsvtxt/nyquist.htm.
Revard, Stella P. “Eve and the Doctrine of Responsibility in Paradise Lost.” PMLA, vol. 88, no. 1, 1973, pp. 69–78. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/461327.
Teskey, Gordon, ed. Paradise Lost by John Milton. Norton Critical Edition, Norton, 2005.
Tolman, George. The Old Woman: A Paper Read Before the Concord Antiquarian Society. New Haven, CT, 1916. Research Publications: History of Women, 1977. Microfilm. Northern Illinois University Library, DeKalb, IL.
[1] All biblical quotes are from the King James Version.
[2] Lecky quotes from Adrian Johns, “Science and the Book,” in The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain, vol. IV: 1557–1695, ed. John Barnard and D. F. McKenzie, Cambridge UP, 2002, p. 297.
[3] In 1642, “I. H.” wrote a response to the Church: “Now let us [see] if any of you blind [priests] can [speak] after this manner, and [see] if it, not a better Sermon then any of you can make, who are against women speaking?” This proto-feminist piece of writing argues that women are just as competent of speaking in church as men and interrogates the mainstream seventeenth-century Church regarding the exclusion of women.