Preview

Paradise Lost Eve Quotes

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1402 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Paradise Lost Eve Quotes
In Paradise Lost by John Milton, the character of Eve is not portrayed as being the most likeable character. Infact, Milton tends to describe Eve in a way that makes her come off as being the antagonist of the story. Milton depicts Eve as being worth less than Adam, being only defined by her beauty, and having similar characteristics to the character of Satan. The way Eve is characterized in the epic shows Milton’s views of the role of women in society and towards men. First, Milton describes in multiple passages, how Eve was created to submit to Adam, while Adam was destined to rule. Though in the Bible it is made that clear that men and women are equal, Milton makes the character of Eve in the epic to be less than Adam. Milton clearly believes …show more content…
Eve is seen as the more sinful one of Adam and Eve and is often compared more to Satan rather than to God. “He for God only, she for God in him.” (4.299) In this quote Milton states how Adam is closer to God then Eve. For Adam is created in the image of God and Eve is created from Adam, therefore, according to Milton, Adam is closer to God than Adam. By basically saying that Adam is closer to God, then Eve must be closer to Satan. Eve does not have a direct relationship with God, like Adam does, she only merely has a direct relationship with Adam. Therefore Adam is more godly than Eve will ever be. “As I bent down to look, just opposite, a shape within the watery gleam appeared bending to look on me, I started back, it started back, but pleased I soon returned , 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.” Eve shows a narcissistic character trait by becoming captivated by her own reflection. Eve looks at her own reflection until God has to pull her away himself. In this entire epic Satan is constantly being depicted as prideful and narcissistic. This quote shows a parallel between Eve and Satan through narcissism. “The tree is not as we are told, a tree of danger tasted, nor of evil unknown opening the way, but of divine effect to open eyes, and make them Gods who taste; and hath been tasted such: the serpent wise.”(9.863-866) In the passage Eve is repeating the words of Satan to Adam. Here Eve shows her devout trust in Satan. In fact, Eve is the only one of the two to had been in direct contact with Satan. Eve is shown here as trusting Satan more than she trusts God, even though she does not know it is Satan that she is trusting. Milton is able to make is seem as though Eve has become more loyal to the serpent, Satan, than to God. She even goes as far as to call the serpent “wise”. Milton
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Allusion To Adam's Speech In Book 9
    • 299 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Allusion To Adam's Speech In Book 9

    This speech has been seen as an allusion to Adam’s speech in Book IX (Milton 9. 370-75). In both speeches there is an internal rhyme and Eve’s speech alludes and paradoxes mainly phrases that Adam uses. For instance, Eve uses the word “go” to mean staying whereas Adam’s use of “staying” is to go (McGrath 73). The way in which speaks and the subtle rhetoric devices employed hints at her intellect. It could be argued that Book IX Eve has an even higher sense of self-confidence and intelligence than previously demonstrated in the poem. By ascribing the final words, especially about the restoration of order, to Eve Milton gives her a sense of importance. She is the one that tells the audience that everything will be restored and although the…

    • 299 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Augustus Grace Quotes
    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Augustus Grace Quotes

    This quote “The real heroes anyway aren’t the people doing things; the real heroes are the people noticing things, paying attention” is said when Augustus Waters is writing to Peter Van Houton asking him if he could write a eulogy for Hazel Grace. What Augustus is saying is that Hazel never noticed his cancer, what she did do was fall in love with him no matter the circumstances. She payed attention to him regardless his prosthetic leg. Another way of seeing this quote in the book is Peter Van Houton noticed that Augustus waters and Hazel Grace did love each other and wanted to pay it to Augustus to attending his funeral. Van Houten noticed that Augustus went out of his way to make Hazel happy in any way possible.…

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Marie Lu Legend Quotes
    • 2732 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Marie Lu Legend Quotes

    In the book “Legend” by Marie Lu, I would like to have Day be my best friend out of all of the characters. Day has been nothing but caring throughout the whole book to Tess and other characters such as June and his little brother Eden, which is a characteristic that I really admire about Day. An illustration as to where Day was caring to Tess was when he met Tess for the first time. Day was on the streets by himself when he saw her in an alleyway. He called out to her and she ran away from him. Day could tell that Tess was really scared so him stayed put. He did not want to scare Tess, he only wanted to help her. ‘“Stop crying, I’m not going to hurt you.’ I knelt down beside her” (Lu 85). This quote shows Day trying to take…

    • 2732 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Is Soloveitchik's Archetypes In Genesis
    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Who Is Soloveitchik's Archetypes In Genesis

    In the second account of creation, God first creates Adam from the dust and then creates Eve from Adam’s body. Because Eve II is created later and in a different way, she is somehow inherently different from Adam. Not only is she different but she is considered to be beneath Adam in some way because her purpose for being created was to be his “helper” in cultivating the Garden of Eden. In this story the serpent tries to tempt Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The fact that the serpent succeeds in this attempt shows that Eve II has a desire for knowledge and power; she has a desire to be more godlike. Eve II differs from her counterpart and the two Adams in the fact that she doesn’t try to imitate God through science and achievements like Adam and Eve I and she doesn’t passively try to find God in nature like Adam II. Eve II strives for knowledge and power and for a status that is equal to God. Eve II represents the curiosity of humans and an ambition that is different from that of Adam and Eve I because she is willing to do whatever it takes to get it. She searches for her own way to understand the divine and in that process become divine herself. Eve II is reckless and rebellious and therefore is a representation of the darker side of human…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gracey Quotes
    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gracey Quotes

    In the text ‘’Dougy’’ by James Moloney, there is lots of theme based in this book. I am going to be talking about Racism, Relationship and Stereotypes. Out of three things the most important is Racism to black people because this book is mostly based on white and black community. I choose this three themes is because in this book they play a big role in it.…

    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Lady Ashley Quotes
    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Lady Ashley Quotes

    Lady Ashley, also known as Brett, is the most dominant woman character in the novel The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway. Brett is an extremely attractive woman who was married, then divorced after WWI. Brett’s character can easily be related to many of the women in the present time. Hemmingway portrays women as manipulative, objects of lust, promiscuous and elusive. Brett is the perfect example of a femme fatale which Hemmingway is trying to portray women as, as well.…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    To Kill A Mockingbird Lady-Like Quotes
    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages

    To Kill A Mockingbird Lady-Like Quotes

    Have you ever found a character, maybe in a tv show, or book, that you can relate to the most (especially by a landslide)? Some people could say yes to the moon and back, while some people have never related that much to a character in their life. For me, I’m more of the former, and I found a character to relate to in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee; Scout Finch. To explain, Scout and I take longer than others to understand things, which could cause frustration in others (mainly peers), and we’re both put under at least some pressure to be more “lady-like”. There’s other similarities too, but they’re either not as significant or I couldn’t find as much quotes to support them.…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rebecca Love Quotes
    • 1422 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Rebecca Love Quotes

    Indeed, the narrator paid the price of her innocence to compensate her triumph of adulthood, which is inevitable for everyone(Messud). While Maxim had to pay the high price of staying married to a woman he did not love and even grew to hate over the years. Only for the continued success of Manderley. When Rebecca revealed her cruel nature and immoral behavior, ones that Maxim won't even repeat, Maxim would not call their marriage off. What was even more concerning was the fact he felt the urge to kill her on the spot from the amount of disgusted he felt. So if he felt that way he why go through the pain of staying married to this woman. Why would he fake his happiness and deal with the worry of covering for Rebecca? He could have saved himself years…

    • 1422 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Paradise Lost And Frankenstein Comparison Essay
    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Paradise Lost And Frankenstein Comparison Essay

    In Milton’s poem it speaks of the fall of the rebel angels and the effect that it has on the history of humans. Lucifer revolts against his creator and tries to command power of everything. So Lucifer and his followers are cast out of Heaven and Satan is transformed into something hideous. Satan travels to Earth to tempt Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, and this begins man suffering in history. The poem ends with a promise of the redemption of Adam’s descendants through the sacrifice of God’s Son. Compare this to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and you can view a version of God in the novel. Dr. Frankenstein acts as “God” in the story. He becomes the creator of life. At one point in the novel, Victor feels like Satan. He says, “I trod heaven in…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Lost Thing Quotes
    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Lost Thing Quotes

    Social interaction is an essential part of any relationship; it is the determining factor for one’s perceptions of the society around them and their own identity. Relationships are initially built upon mutual interests and acceptance and this is closely linked with one’s innate desire to be able to affiliate with a group or another individual. Both these ideas are explored in the ‘Namesake’ by Jhumpa Lahiri and the picture book: ‘The Lost Thing’ by Shaun Tan. Lahiri explores the importance of shared values and experiences in a relationship for it to prosper rather than the need for social interaction. This notion is shown through the relationship Ashoke and Ashima forge throughout their life. Despite having an arranged marriage, without having…

    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Genesis Gender Roles
    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Genesis Gender Roles

    Eve commits the very first sin by eating the sacred fruit from the tree of knowledge (Genesis 3:6). This leads to God punishing Eve, and God decrees that a husband will rule over his wife (Genesis 3:16). It also leads to man’s tendency to blame the woman for his own action (Genesis 3 footnotes). This shows why women seem to always be directly or indirectly responsible for the conflict in a story, because they were thought to be the root of all problems, and men were thought to rule over them. Sarah mistreats Hagar and drives her away, Leah and Rachel are shown as envious towards each other and Rachel steals from her father, and Dinah’s mistreatment prompts her brothers to brutally destroy an entire city. Since all these women have a major part in the conflict of the story, the images of the men they associate with appear cleaner.…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Paradise Lost Literary Analysis
    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Paradise Lost Literary Analysis

    Before The Fall, Adam and Eve existed together as one in the Garden of Eden, but soon their unity began to dismantle throughout the course of Paradise Lost (Sims 1). Tempted by the lavish fruit from The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Eve is persuaded to take a bite of the fruit by Satan, God’s second in command, who is now the leader of fallen angels. Then Adam, lead on by Eve, took a bite as well, which lead to The Fall of humanity. But this whole experience is different; the temptation by Satan is not felt, but linked second-hand. The original meaning of The Fall is that it was Eve’s fault, but in Paradise Lost Milton places the blame on Adam.…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Paradise Lost and Tis Pity
    • 1023 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Paradise Lost and Tis Pity

    In Book Nine of Paradise Lost, Milton begins to introduce Satan as the Serpent; however, he manages to draw the audience away from Satan's intentions by presenting his physical beauty. As the Serpent 'Addressed his way' towards Eve, with the desire to cause corruption, he moves 'not with intended wave'. Instead, he towers 'fould above fould a surging Maze', with the colours of 'Verdant Gold'. By giving the Serpent distinct characteristics, he is separating him from the other creatures in the Garden of Eden, therefore drawing Eve's attention to his uniqueness. The repetition of 'fould above fould' gives the sense of an illusion, something which Eve's eyesight is unable to comprehend; which is then reinforced by 'surging Maze', giving this illusion speed and power, causing a greater confusion on Eve's behalf. The vivid description of 'verdant Gold' gives the Serpent a very rich colouring, thus reiterating his importance in the Garden. When Satan finally decides to confront Eve, he becomes 'erect', giving himself a sense of empowerment. This is when Milton's…

    • 1023 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Angelina Grimke's Letter To Catharine Beecher
    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Angelina Grimke's Letter To Catharine Beecher

    She says that, despite popular belief, woman was never given to man by God, but created from him in the image of God himself. She gives a second party account of the creation of Eve stating, “the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”(x) She says Adam recognized her as a part of himself as a companion and equal, standing on the same level of human rights, only under God himself. The idea of woman being “the last best gift of God to man”(xi) has created the evils which have ultimately, “taken her out of the exalted scale of existence and crushed her down under the feet of man.”…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Deception of Satan Paradise Lost
    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Deception of Satan Paradise Lost

    Satan was a powerful angel who, after being thrown into hell, used his powers to deceive God's newly created beings, Adam and Eve. These characters are perceived as innocent and vulnerable creatures, who could be easily influenced. What better way to get revenge on God than to tempt His most prized possessions? Satan uses his power of deceiving rhetoric to mislead his followers. He then deceives Eve with the same kind of rhetoric. Satan's tone changes between the speech to the council and the speech to Eve. We are introduced to Satan as a heroic figure. As the poem goes on his character loses his greatness and falls to that of a creature.…

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics