character study of eve

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Name                  :     Jeel   j. Vyas

Roll No                :     15

Paper No            :    1  The Renaissance Literature.

Class                    :     M.A. Sem - 1

Topic                   :   Character study of Eve

Enrolment No   :    2069108420190045

College               :   Smt.S.B.Gardi Department of English 

Email ID             :    jeelvyas15@gmail.com

Submitted         :    Department  of English M.K.B.University   

      Introduction: 

John Milton was an English poet,  polemicist, man of letter, and civil servant. He is a representative of his age. Milton is a poet steadfast will and purpose. He is a poet who know best about the humanity. He gave his life to music, art and literature. He is famous for his epic poem Paradise lost ( 1667) ; written in blank verse. As John Dryden quoted in the “Life of Milton” 

                  “This man cuts us all out, and the ancients too.”

Dryden quoted this for Milton after reading Paradise lost. Because he found book marvellous. The book astonished readers for beauty and thundering power of its verse. 

Paradise Lost:

        The paradise lost is a great epic poem. Things like sublime imagery, harmonious verse, titanic background of heaven and hell we find in paradise lost but we want able to find in any other literature. And because of this reason it consider as one of the best work of art. In 1658 Milton dictate the work had planned thirty years before. Paradise lost is divided into twelve books. Book nine is a climax of all books. The main character of epic poem is Adam, Eve, and Satan.

Book no nine throws light of Eve. 

Character of Eve:

       Eve is first woman and consider as the mother of mankind. Milton portrait her as a typical womanish nature. She is frail , beautiful, clever yet easy to be seduced. There are various aspect  of  Eve’s character.

Meaning of Eve’s name:

        The name of Eve is occurs only five time in Bible. According to Catholic Encyclopaedia Eve is more then a verb, noun or a name. Eve means to live. Adam call her Eve because she is a mother of all the living. Through Eve  life is come to existence.

Eve was created to be Adam’s equal in dignity:

         Eve is created from Adam’s rib means from his side. This means to be equal with him. Eve created under Edam’s arm to be protected and near his heart to be loved. 

      As the catechism affirms man and woman were made for each other. Each can be helpmate for they are equal as person. So, we  cannot say that Eve is inferior to Adam. She was created to Adam’s equal in dignity.

Eve is regarded as a saint in many christen church:

     According to ancient tradition after the death of Christ ‘descended into the dead’ to bring forth the righteous into eternal life. An ancient homily narrates the event. 

      “ He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost  sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live on darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him- He who is both their God and the son of Eve … ‘ I am your God, who for your shake have become your son … I order you, o sleeper, To awake. I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell.  Rise from the death for I am the life of the dead’.”

With this type of mind set they consider Eve as saints. They thoughts that they are the sin if God so they are the saints. 

Her feast day is on December 24:

      The Medieval church honoured Adam and Eve on December 24. They performed the play of paradise and their central focus on tree. Later on from this trend of Christmas tree is develop. 

Beauty of Eve: 

             According to Adam Eve is most beautiful creation of God. When Adam is with Eve he address her as, 

                   “ O Fairest of creation last and best

                     Of all God’s work, creature in whom excelled’’  

                                                              ( XI OD Track 7 1-2)

On the time of her creation when she looks into water she falls in love with her own self. When Satan shows Eve for a while he also attract towards her beauty.

       “but all that fair that fair and good in thy Divine

        Semblance, and in thy beauty’s heavenly ray’’

 Milton always says that her beauty makes her easy to love. 

Intelligence of Eve:

       Eve has tendency to question Adam, but she dose so in rational respect manner. Her habit of questioning leads to temptation. Eve tell Adam to work separately. Adam knows that Eve is to be tricked by Satan if she is alone but out of her love he want able to refuse her and agreed on whatever Eve is saying. 

         In book 9 when Eve is living at that time Milton is saying that now which Eve is return will be another not this. Means that her innocence will be lost now 

       “ yet went she not as not with such discourse

         Delight or not capable of her ear. 

        Of what was high: such pleaser she reserv’d” 

                                                            ( VII 48-50)

We find that Eve’s arguments are more strong she is not readily accept what Serpent is saying is truth.  She also argue with him and says, 

              “Serpent thy  overpraising  leaves in doubt 

               The virtue of the fruit in the first proud” 

 When Adam talk about happiness and also talk about fear of Satan we can see Eve’s intelligence, 

               “  How are we happy , still in fear of harm?

                But harm precedes not sin: only our foe 

                 Tempting  affronts  us with his foul esteem”

                                                               ( track 15 57-59)

After eating fruit Eve immediately know that she has committed mistake. Her sinned was rebelling against the God. Now it leads  her for repenting for her actions. She immediately come to know that she has to pay for whatever she has done. 

Eve’s autonomy:

              

                 Eve’s autonomy is present in book nine just before her fall. She wants to do her work by herself for a while she wants to do things from her own way. That is why she insists to dividing the job between her and Adam. As Mc Colley suggest, 

“  Eve's desire to work  for a while her own way had spring from a healthy desire to dress the garden in obedience to the commandment and prescription the liberty on which their obedience and their mutual love depend”.                                                                           ( Milton’s Eve)

Why Adam wants a helpmate?

           Adam and Eve both are created by the God have different virtue. So, they can help each other. Both can help each other. Adam is created before him and dissatisfied  living with animal. To satisfied him Eve is created. Adam wants to have relationship with someone who is equal to him. He know till he was alone he is not perfect and that is why he need someone 

                              “ conversation with his alike to help,                                         or solace his defects”

                                                                                         (VIII 418-419)

To complete Adam’s wish God created Eve. Witterich Joseph in his feminist Milton suggested that , “ Edam has been given exactly what he asked for his equal.” Adam is that much fascinated Eve’s beauty that he is fail to notice her virtue. 

Eve subordinate to Adam:

       First there was no concept of family. So there is no name of any relation. We can see that Eve is created from Adam’s rib means something like father giving birth to child. So we find Eve’s subordinate is double. Subordination here is like obedience. It is like ideal human attitude towards the God.

          Here we can say that Eve has to be subordinate Adam because he is her author. As per the Biblical story Eve is created from Adam’s rib. So sometime Eve is called daughter of God and man. In this sense Eve’s subordination to Adam indicate less that of wife to her husband then that of the daughter to her parent.

Eve called, 

                          “ My author and disposer what thou bid’st

                                     Unargued  I obey” 

                                                                                     ( IV 635-36 ) 

Eve’s identity:

        Bible is primary source in west for definition of gender and morality. Most of the story of Adam and Eve can be explained within the context of Hebrew culture. Its patriarchal bias shown to be historical rather then divine in origin. From last two thousand years Eve has represented as a identity of woman. That is how Eve is like only woman are. Eve is become a symbol of female gender. 

                                         Because of this west has believe that woman are by nature disobedient, guiles, week, willed, prone to temptation and evil, disloyal, untrustworthy, motivated in their thoughts and behaviour purely by self instruct. This perception of Eve has remarkable tenacity and persists as a major stumbling block in attempt to woman by correct gender based.

Eve after eating apple:

              As Milton mentioned before that the innocent Eve who is going will not returned. we find that the same thing once she eat apple she become selfish. First she thinks that I should not give apple to Adam. She alone wants to become knowledgeable. But as soon as she thinks that if I alone eat apple and commit mistake god punish me . she also thinks that if God killed me what about Adam he will demand another Eve. The feeling of jealousy come in Eve and that is why she decided to give apple to Adam. 

           “ And Adam, wedded to another Eve,

               Shell live with her enjoying, I extinct”

                                                             ( OD 3 Track 5)

     Adam’s love towards Eve:

                   Adam love Eve very purely. He knows that eating apple is sin. Though he eat apple because he love Eve. He also thinks that I have rib and God will create another Eve for me. But I love this. He thought about his love and eat apple. 

Conclusion:

                Though this we find that Eve of paradise lost is a quite different then Eve of Bible.  Eve in Bible readily accepts whatever happens to her. Here we find her rebellious but her all arguments has some logic. But her logic and intelligence cannot be seen by Adam in front of her beauty. In front of her beauty for a while even Satan also bow down. Eve is created as a helpmate but now become a identity of all the woman. She is subordinate to Adam but also has a free will. We find complete balance of everything in Eve. Eve is one of the best character of john Milton.