Milton
Paradise Lost Quotation Response
This passage from Paradise Lost illustrates the heavy misogyny of literature and religious belief tat the time Milton was writing. Eve defers to Adam in all things, as is natural; as Eve herself, says, "to know no more [than Adam's rule] / Is woman's happiest knowledge and her praise (Milton, Book 4, lines 637-8). This passage can be read with a slight sarcasm, not really in the voice of Eve but in that of the speaker, and Milton was certainly not averse to using this type of satirical humor. It certainly reflects the typical attitude of the period, however, and there is nothing to suggest that Milton did not mean this to be taken earnestly. It makes Eve's eventual transgression that much more abhorrent; not only has she broken Adam's commandment, but she has done so after avowing her sole allegiance to him. This makes Eve not only a sinner and transgressor, but the possessor of a fickle heart.
Eve is just as willing to transgress and just as fickle in the Bible's telling of the story. After acknowledging that God had forbid she and Adam from eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge, the serpent is able with a single sentence to persuade her to try the fruit: "God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods" (King James, Genesis 3:5). Appealing to her own pride and vanity made it easy for her to change sides; the serpent's base flattery and suggestion of God's jealousy was enough to convince Eve. This has led to the standard depiction of women as flighty and empty-headed, which is abundantly apparent in Milton's portrayal of Eve in this passage. Though the possibility that he intended this representation satirically definitely exists, it is not especially apparent and served to further the image of women as both foolish and overly prone to sinful behavior.
Works Cited
King James Bible. Accessed 11 July 2009. http://etext.virginia.edu/kjv.browse.html
Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Accessed 11 July 2009. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_4/index.shtml
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