Satan and Eve contrast in John Milton's Paradise Lost - Essay Example

Paradise Lost “Paradise Lost”, a poem accredited to John Milton provides a detailed of the biblical fall of man, the original sin and the role played by Adam, Eve, God and Satan in its occurrence. The different characters share both similarities and differences assessed on different grounds such as traits, and prevailing themes among others; for example, the theme of good vs. evil dominates the poem as shown by a comparison between God’s and Satan’s traits and actions. Discussed below are binary distinctions aimed at giving a comparative and contrasting perspective between Satan and Eve. It is clear from Milton’s literal work that Eve and Satan share certain similarities. Understanding their point of convergence makes it easier for one to identify their similarities. As a reader, one tries to wrap their head around why Satan chose Eve and not Adam as his intial contact with humans. It is presumable that he must have sensed some form of connection to Eve that he failed to sense with regard to Adam. Milton’s depicts Eve as a person drawn to her beauty as shown in the scene where she sat by the lake, entranced by her reflection before God’s divine voice intervened and led her to Adam. In fact, it can be argued that her vanity bordered on depraved narcissism making her very similar to Satan whose vanity led to his intense pride and an inflated feeling of self-importance. Moreover, Satan’s narcissism made him derive demented pleasures from his relationship with Sin. Unlike humans who God created in his own image or likeness, Sin was the exact opposite, created in the likeness of Satan. As a result, Satan found himself drawn to Sin and reveled in its direct contradiction to what God nature and what he professed. Satan’s and Eve’s defiant nature stemmed from their perceived sense of inequality. Milton’s depiction of Satan at the beginning of the poem indicates that he struggled with the fact that God was his superior, which led to Satan developing grandiose delusions centered on his ability to overthrow God successfully. Throughout the poem he remained unsatisfied with his previous esteemed status. On the other hand, it is presumable that Eve unconsciously struggled with the fact that she was second to Adam. God took note of Adam’s loneliness, need for companionship and decided to create Eve by borrowing a set of his ribs. As a result, Eve played a submissive role leaving the major decision making to Adam. This is well illustrated in the naming ritual, which entailed Adam assigning names to different creations. Milton’s choice of the words Eve uses to describe Adam’s role in her life also indicate that she was his subordinate; for example, she refers to him as her author, disposer; therefore, ascertaining that whatever he bids she’s predisposed to comply (Milton 4. 635-637). Eve’s and Satan’s determination stands undoubted. They both engaged in deceitful, manipulative techniques. After his demotion, Satan set out to turn both Adam and Eve against God by tempting them with the hope that they will defy God’s instruction and eat the forbidden fruit. His success hinged on manipulating Eve whom he knew had the capacity to sway Adam as his companion and confidant. Therefore, disguising himself as a serpent, he preyed on Eve’s curiosity sowing some element of doubt and defiance. He then left it to Eve to convince Adam to defy God, which was a difficult task at first but because Adam held Eve dear, he gave in to her advances in spite of his prior misgivings. One can argue that Adam’s permissiveness that allowed Eve to make a decision about something trivial was bound to result in detrimental consequences. As mentioned earlier, Adam played the role of sole decision maker. According to Milton’s text, he even engaged in intellectual dialogue with the angels such as Michael; whereby, in these instances, Eve excused herself from the conversations opting to re-hear the subject under discussion from Adam at a later time. Meaning, her intellectual capabilities were at a lower level of advancement compared to Adam’s rendering incompetent to make sound decisions regarding the forbidden fruit. Moreover, one can argue that Eve fell prey to the Satan and Sin because unlike Adam who was created in the immediate likeness of God, she was a second prototype minimizing her likeness to God predisposing her to worldly flaws such as vanity (Milton 200). Unlike Satan, Eve lacked the ability to transform her physical state into various forms. Satan capitalized on his ability to transform into various shapes to serve his selfless ends. In Book I, he assumed the form of a meteor or comet during his descent into hell, and later he transformed himself into a humble cherub, a cormorant, toad and finally into a snake. The different forms mirror his depreciating status; for example, his initial transformation into a meteor mirrored his prior prominence as one of the highly regarded angels whereas, his final transformation into a snake mirrored his depraved, wretched state marred by his inability to atone and reconcile with God. The only noteworthy change seen in Eve includes her ability to exercise her free will and choose between wrong and right (Milton 500). Satan and Eve also differ in their defining personality traits; whereby, Eve has desirable traits such as love, resilience, and apologetic whereas Satan’s pride renders him unapologetic, incapable of love or any positive emotion for that matter. Eve acknowledges her mistakes and begs Adam to stay with her as much as she failed him. In addition, she suffers from shame caused by disobeying God; therefore also begs for his mercy and forgiveness. From the very beginning, Satan shows no remorse for rebelling against God. He maintains that he deserves to rule in place of God, and further proceeds to use malignant, deceitful tales to convince the other fallen-angels cast out of heaven to follow him. He establishes his reign in the underworld and on earth claiming that it is better than heaven. Moreover, he makes it his mission to dissuade humans from following God’s commands. It is this disparity that explains why God showed no mercy to Satan but did Eve (Milton 460). In conclusion, Milton tries to present a comparative outlook throughout the entire text with the aim of sustaining readers’ hope that good will always prevail. In order to empathize with both Satan and Eve, Milton depicts them at the start of the poem in positive regard bordering on heroic in some sense. This favorable portrayal aims at enlightening readers and cautioning them against evil, which might manifest itself in a favorable form. Moreover, Milton provides a path for redemption for both Eve and Adam highlighting God’s grace and ability to forgive. So why is Satan not forgiven? In my opinion, he has to remain as the “bad guy”, a form of balance and check, to serve as a constant reminder that people ought not to take God’s grace for granted and that sin drives a wedge between man and God (Milton 154). Work Cited John, Milton. Paradise Lost. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2008. Print. Read More