Ambiguity On Feminism In John Milton's Paradise Lost
The same passage is seen as ambiguous to other critics of Milton. This connects to the idea of Milton’s ambiguity on feminism, and whether or not Paradise Lost is a feminist or misogynistic work, or something in between. The common to interpretation of the phrase “Not equal, as their sex not equal seemed” (ibid 4.295-298) is that it is a reference to Eve’s inferiority to Adam. This is because of the context of later parts of the poem, but when it stands alone the passage is vague as to which sex is supposedly superior, or at least that is the argument that Mostafa Sadehi Kahmini makes in his essay. He writes, “Milton doesn’t point out which one is higher: Is Eve higher than Adam or vice versa?” The problem it seems with this idea is that it