Paradise Lost: A More Acceptable Version of Genesis
Paradise Lost gives a recount of Satan appearing to Eve in the garden and appealing to her attractive features in order to get her to eat the forbidden fruit. Although Eve is the first to eat from the Forbidden Tree, Eve is shown as more difficult to convince, while Adam blindly follows along because of his adornment of Eve’s beauty. This represents the average Protestant family dynamic at the time of publication, because men were very dependent on women in relation to maintaining the household and watching the children. In the novel, John Milton creates an alternative story for the Genesis creation story, where gender roles are reversed, Satan is glorified, and God is presented as a more forgiving figure when Adam and Eve ate fruit from the Forbidden Tree. Paradise Lost is a more easily acceptable truth to the average Protestant individual compared to the Bible’s Genesis story because of the more realistic standards and beliefs portrayed in the novel. In the early 1650s, Milton worked for Oliver Cromwell during the Puritan Revolution. During this time, many of the citizens of England, Scotland and Ireland were Puritans who wanted to shred any evidence of Catholicism in their Church. Therefore, when Milton created a different origin story, he used his experience in the political arena to create a more appealing story for the masses, containing more humanistic features of Adam and Eve, and utilizing ideas that leaned further away from Catholicism.
Gender Roles
In the novel, towards the end of Book 9, Eve easily convinces Adam to eat the apple from the forbidden tree using her sexuality and intelligence against him. In the King James version of the Bible, the verse only references Eve giving Adam the apple without any further detail. The more detailed explanation of how Eve was able to easily get Adam to eat the fruit shows how intelligent Eve was and how Adam was so easily deceived. During this scene, when Eve relays the news about the apple, Adam is horrified. However he quickly begins convincing himself of reasons why he should eat the apple, in order to stay with Eve. For this whole scene, all Eve has to do is patiently ease Adam into eating the apple, using her charm and wit. Although some may interpret this novel as showing women as insubordinates to men because of Adams’ closer relationship with God, a further reading shows Eve as an empowered and strong woman who can use her intelligence in order to prove her superiority above Adam. Audiences can also see how in Erin Shield’s version of Paradise Lost, Eve’s intelligence is even more highlighted than in John Milton’s because Satan is represented as a female character. When Satan convinced Eve to eat from the tree, she does not appeal to her beauty, but her mind and intelligence. Satan says, “It’s a shame really… That Eve’s intelligence should only be appreciated by the lowliest of beasts. Doesn’t she long for greater context?” Utilizing yet another female character in this alternate Genesis story bolden’s Eve’s character even more. This aspect of Eve would appeal to female readers during this time because women were still considered below man and the weaker gender, so a novel highlighting the female intellect resonated with a large audience.
Immediately following the eating of the apple, God knows what they have done and sends his Son to confront Adam. Without reasoning or explaining himself, Adam childishly blames Eve, without taking any responsibility at first. This shows Adams’ more ignorant side and his foolish manner. This shameful act is not present in the King James version of the Bible, which only cites Adam and Eve praying for forgiveness. Although Adam blames Eve for giving him the fruit, the Son of God gives both Eve and Adam punishments: all women will feel pain during child labor, and all men will be forced to harvest off the Earth for nurishment. This proves equality between the genders, because both man and woman suffer due to the original act of Eve, followed by Adam. The female Puritan audience would positively react to this interpretation because of the revolution, which brought more attention to political matters regarding the female status. Therefore, the more dominant character of Eve alongside the more impulsive version of Adam would be more easily acceptable to the Puritan audience.
The Puritan audience would also be more accepting of Paradise Lost in comparison to the original Genesis story because Adam and Eve more closely resembled the classic English family. During the late 17th and early 18th century, domestic families would consist of men being the breadwinners of the family, while women would run the household, manage the servants, raise and educate their children, and cook and feed their family. Because of their more prominent role in domestic life, families would put dowries on their daughters in order to find the best spouse for the family. When analyzing the relationship between Adam and Eve, we always see Adam attempting to “chase” Eve, in order to receive her love. In the scene where Eve convinces Adam to eat the apple, Adam is finally convinced because it means that Eve and he will suffer the same doom, even if it causes the fall of mankind. He believes that her love is the reason he should eat the apple, while Eve wants him to eat it so she doesn’t suffer alone. This relationship highlights the control Eve holds compared to Adam, just like how average domestic women hold more major responsibilities in the household compared to men. Audiences can also see Eve as a more modern woman because during the late 17th century, the average domestic housewife during Milton’s time needed to be educated in order to provide for the family. Therefore, Milton’s educated and clever Eve more closely resembled the average female. The King James version of the Bible does not highlight Eve’s sophistication and power in the husband/wife relationship, making it less relatable for readers during the 17th and 18th century compared to Paradise Lost.
Satan is Glorified
Throughout the novel, Paradise Lost, John Milton paints Satan in a very charming and desirable way. Milton is able to capture the reader’s attention and give them someone to root for because he portrays Satan as an “underdog” and as someone people admire. The audience can especially see this in book one, when Satan is sent to hell after losing the battle of the uprising against God. Rising from the flames, Satan still does not repent, and gathers his army with plans of another attack. In many famous films, the protagonist is at first defeated, but then comes back to win everything back, like in Rocky or The Karate Kid. The audience can see the same type of charisma in Satan as one would see in Rocky Balboa and Daniel LaRusso. Audiences are more attracted to these types of stories because they have someone to support and encourage throughout the novel. In Genesis, since Satan is an evil that the audience does not like, and God is all powerful and unbeatable, the reader does not have anyone to root for. While Genesis is more of a history textbook, Paradise Lost is a thrilling origin story that follows the comeback of Satan and his army. Also, during Milton’s time, the Protestant Revolution was occuring. Protestants would have been seen as the “underdog” compared to Catholicism, so when the revolution occured, Protestants could more easily relate themselves to Satan because of their common characteristics. Therefore, when Milton created Satan as a figure worthy of appraisal, he was able to draw in more Protestant readers because they would be able to relate it back to themselves and what was happening at the time.
Not only can the audience view Satan as someone worthy of their support, but as someone with ambition and and passion in what he does. These are the types of characteristics that make someone stand out and make them worthy of success and admiration. Therefore, when Milton presents Satan’s character in this manner, readers would be more interested in this novel compared to Genesis because of the strong, alluring protagonist. In the original Genesis story, the events are written in a more formal tone, just stating the facts, rather than telling a story. This writing style does not give audiences a hero or antihero because it is more centered around what events occurred, rather than who forced these events to occur. Although God is the central figure in Genesis, readers are not attracted to God as a hero because He seems very far away from the story. On the contrary, in Paradise Lost, Satan is a very real and human character that everyone can relate to and be inspired by. For example, when Satan rebels against God and is sent down to Hell, the bible barely touches upon the subject, with merely on line from the book of Isaiah, stating, “How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12). However, in Paradise Lost, Milton describes Satan’s rise from the flames, with his fallen army, determination in his eyes, ready to strike again. In comparison, the more compelling text is Milton’s because of the in-depth character description and the elongated description of the events that occured throughout Genesis. When Milton utilizes Satan’s more compelling personality, he is able to catch the reader’s attention and draw them into the character. Milton most likely utilizes this method of writing because he had a very complex self-construction. In Barbara K. Lewwalski’s biography on Milton, she explains how “he is concerned with how he sees himself and how he will show himself to others.” This explains why Milton was so involved in creating a different appearance to the classical Satan figure of the time. Because of the Protestant Revolution, Milton was able to successfully create an ambitious and admirable Satan that would attract readers. Therefore, making Satan a more alluring character made Paradise Lost a more interesting read at the time.
Not only did Milton make Satan more attractive by giving him more desirable qualities, but also made Satan a more sexualized figure. This makes Paradise Lost a more attractive read because this Satan is more relatable than the ideal perfectness of God in Genesis. Throughout the novel, Satan is described as a bruting figure, with a very charming personality. When finding Eve in the Garden of Eden, he is able to convince her to eat the apple from the Forbidden Tree by appealing to her beauty and physic. Satan continually calls Eve in book nine “Empress,” or “Queen of this universe,” and appeals to her beauty and intelligence. In Genesis, the line where Satan convinced Eve to eat from the tree was, “Ye shall not surely die, For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened.” (Genesis 3:4-5). This line from Genesis is a lot less complicated because Satan barely had to convince Eve to eat the fruit. It was as though he didn’t even have to try. On the other hand, in Paradise Lost, Satan is a lot more clever and uses his own sexuality and Eve’s sexuality to get her to eat from the tree. People will be more prone to believing that Eve ate from the tree because she was deceived by a very mysterious and clever character, rather than just being told to eat from the tree and not putting up a fight. This way, the audience can identify with Eve’s mistakes because humans make mistakes and can sometimes be led in the wrong direction. Also, by making Satan more sexualized, Milton is able to allow readers to see more humanity in him. If Satan was just some demon that had no emotions, no one would be able to relate to his character, even if he had ambitions. But giving him a more sexual identity, the audience can visualize him and relate him to themselves. Therefore, by sexualizing Satan, Milton was able to make Paradise Lost a more easily acceptable truth compared to Genesis because more people could relate to the figure of Satan.
God is Represented as a More Kind and Forgiving Character
In Genesis, God is a very distant character that seems to be very harsh and strict when speaking to Adam and Eve. In Paradise Lost, God is made into a more forgiving and kind figure when dealing with Adam and Eve, especially when they eat from the Forbidden Tree. This more forgiving God in Milton’s novel is more appealing to readers because it gives them a sense of safeness and security because even if you sin, God will always forgive you. In Genesis, when describing how God dealt with Adam and Eve after they ate from the Forbidden Tree, it states, “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:24). On the other hand, in Milton’s Paradise Lost, God sends Adam and Eve out of the garden, but also reassures them that, although they may have eaten from the Forbidden Tree, there is still possibilities for man and woman to redeem themselves on Earth. This more relaxed approach to a mistake made by humans is more reassuring for the average Protestant individual because the entire Protestant Revolution is based on stripping away the strictness associated with the Catholic church. Therefore, when Milton takes a more open hearted approach to creating God’s character, compared to the distant God in Genesis, he is able to catch the reader’s attention and allow themselves to believe more in the forgiving figure, rather than Genesis, making Paradise Lost a more believable way to write Genesis.
Milton is also able to make Paradise Lost a more acceptable novel compared to Genesis because God seems to be less powerful than Satan. Because Satan represents a more revolutionary figure, people during that time would see Satan as a personification of the Puritan Revolution, and therefore enjoy seeing Satan overpower God. In David Loewenstein’s novel “Representing Revolution in Milton and His Contemporaries : Religion, Politics, and Polemics in Radical Puritanism,” he states that Milton would “represent the horror of Antichritian rebellion and its proliferating power by using images of the monstrous and unnatural in his prose and poetry.” Therefore, by using Satan, the single being that birthed sin and chaos, in his poem, he was utilizing a monstrous character in order to show his resistance to the Puritan Revolution. However, because the revolution was so popular by the time Paradise Lost was published, Milton made Satan a stronger character so that more people would read his poetry. This choice helped Milton attract more readers and allow for more people to relate to the story. When Adam and Eve are fooled by Satan, od does not rebuke Satan that badly, only making the serpent slither on the ground for the rest of its life. Then, God immediately follows with the fact that although they sinned, they can be redeemed. This makes God look like more of an inferior character because he almost accepts the fact that Satan ruined his ultimate plan for humankind. Therefore, by giving Satan a more prominent role compared to a kind and subtle God, Protestant readers are more attracted to Paradise Lost compared to Genesis.
Also, throughout the novel, God is portrayed as a character who is very closely intertwined with Adam and Eve, while God in Genesis is more of a distanced character. This more closely connected relationship Adam and Eve in Paradise Lost attracts more readers because more Protestant readers are attracted to a more personal relationship with God compared to having to go to church every Sunday and paying indulgences to have a close relationship with God. For example, in Book 8, when describing his coming about, Adam remembers waking up in the sunlight, and first seeing God before anything else. This shows how close their bond is because of their immediate connection when Adam arises. On the other hand, in Genesis, Adam’s creation is barely described in detail, just mentioned in passing, making it less of a strong connection between Adam and God. Therefore, the more kind and closely connected God in Paradise Lost is a more acceptable truth compared to the story of Genesis.
To conclude, John Milton’s Paradise Lost is a more believable and popular interpretation of Genesis during Milton’s time because of more empowerment in the character of Eve, the glorification of Satan, and a more loving and forgiving God figure. Throughout the novel, Eve is shown as a more clever and knowledgeable female character, attracting female audiences during Milton’s time. By creating a glorified Satan, Protestant audiences can see him as a more attractive character, and can see him as a personification of the Puritan Revolution. Also, by creating a more loving and forgiving God, many readers are more attracted to the representation of a less strict and harsh, punishing God. Therefore, Milton’s Paradise Lost is a more acceptable truth compared to the Bible’s Genesis story because audiences during the time of publication would prefer the choices Milton made throughout his novel.
Works Cited
Lewalski, Barbara K. The Life of John Milton : A Critical Biography. John Wiley & Sons, 2007.
Libraries Worldwide.
Loewenstein, David. Representing Revolution in Milton and His Contemporaries : Religion,
Politics, and Polemics in Radical Puritanism. Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Libraries Worldwide.
Savoie, John. “‘That Fallacious Fruit’: Lapsarian Lovemaking in ‘Paradise Lost.’” Milton
Quarterly, vol. 45, no. 3, 2011, pp. 161–171. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24462010.
Shields, Erin, and John Milton. Paradise Lost. First edition., First ed., Playwrights Canada Press,
2018. Libraries Worldwide,
public.ebookcentral.proquest.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=5840976.
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