The Temptation of Eve in Milton’s Paradise Lost Essay Example

faithful side that gave her life for The Wife. The safest and most proper place for her is by her husband's side, who protects her and endures the worst alongside her. However, Adam is cautious of Eve's innocence and vulnerability, and thus he does not want her to expose herself to a situation in which Satan can harm her. Eve, on the other hand, is not scared because she prioritizes reason over accepting God's terrifying warning.

The speaker questions how one can still experience happiness while being in fear of harm. However, harm does not come before sin. Only our enemy tempts us and insults our integrity. Eve reminds Adam that they still possess free will to choose right or wrong despite encountering dangers. Adam is finally convinced and tells Eve to go, as staying here restricts her freedom even more.

Go in your innate innocence and rely On the virtue you have, gather it all, For God has done his part towards you, do yours.

Eve eagerly agrees to go and though she provides valid justifications for her departure, she foolishly believes she will always make the right choices. Her lack of fear regarding God's warning is different from Adam's cautious approach. Eve proceeds with her tasks and Milton portrays her as guilty of attracting the devil with her beauty, making him love and then hate her because he cannot possess her or match her beauty.

Her graceful Innocence, her every Air Of gesture or least action overawed His malice...but the burning hell within him soon ended his

pleasure and now tortures him more, the more he witnesses Of pleasure not meant for him ordained (ix, 459-470).

Ironically, the devil becomes more passionate and rebellious against Eve due to her beauty.Satan, taking the form of a serpent, proceeds to persuade Eve that consuming the fruit from the tree of knowledge granted him the ability to speak and think like a human, and it would similarly empower her to think like a god and comprehend the distinction between good and evil. Despite being aware of God's prohibition, Eve, our gullible mother, is still led to the tree that symbolizes restriction and the source of all our anguish. In her own words:

We are permitted to eat from every tree in the Garden, but God has explicitly commanded us not to consume from this particular beautiful tree in the midst of the Garden, nor are we to even touch it, for fear of death (ix, 659-663).

The divine commandment unequivocally declares that partaking of the fruit from the tree of knowledge is prohibited.

God gives a command for Adam and Eve to follow. However, when Eve eats the forbidden fruit, she is easily influenced by the serpent's temptation. Though she is naive, she is open to considering the serpent's persuasion and uses reason rather than blindly adhering to God's command like Adam might have. Milton suggests that because Eve commits a wrongdoing, her belief that "we live/Law to ourselves, our Reason is our Law" is not a valid reason to undermine God's word. The serpent, questioning why the fruit is forbidden, tries to sway Eve by suggesting that God wants

to keep them ignorant and submissive. By questioning God's integrity in his commands, the serpent commits the gravest sin of all.

One is not allowed to question the supreme authority of God's word. The serpent, however, challenges this by making Eve doubt God's intentions and putting God in a different perspective. This leads Eve to think about why she was forbidden from eating the fruit. She wonders, "What fear do I have? What do I need to fear under this lack of knowledge about Good and Evil, God and Death, Law or penalty?" (ix, 753-755). Eve contemplates that without knowledge of Good and Evil, she cannot fully understand what is right or wrong. Consequently, she starts to exercise her free will by thinking rationally instead of blindly following faith.

Eve believes that in order to comply with a command, one must comprehend the reason behind it. To grasp the purpose, she decides to break this command, despite the challenging predicament she finds herself in. Eve's curiosity and willingness to exercise free will lead her to think independently as a separate entity from God. Consequently, she chooses to consume the forbidden fruit. Milton attributes the fall of Paradise to Eve and asserts multiple points. He blames her for lacking unwavering faith in God, suggesting that without such faith, one is at fault.

Eve's lack of undying faith is evident in her limited belief in God's intentions, leading her to sin. Additionally, when individuals attempt to rely solely on their own thoughts and logic, they fail miserably. Milton highlights that women are unable to think independently without their husbands, as Eve's attempt at using logic results in her sinning.

The Serpent's cunning words


Deceived her easily


and his persuasive words echoed in her ears,


Filled with what seemed like Reason and Truth.

Milton implies that the serpent's deceitful lies appeared truthful to an ignorant and naive Eve.

Despite her obvious intelligence and reasoning, Eve is guilty of the fall of Paradise by eating the fruit forbidden by her creator. Milton's argument highlights the irony that although Eve possesses a well-functioning brain, his final judgment is incorrect. According to him, women may be intelligent but lack wisdom, as Eve's sin against God is considered the worst act by Protestants. Success in life requires wisdom, and it appears that Milton does not believe Eve possesses it; instead, he places it within the character of Adam, the man.

In summary, although a woman has the ability to think analytically, she lacks the capability to make wise judgments independently, making her vulnerable to errors and transgressions, often due to corrupting temptations.