Gender Discrimination In 'Paradise Lost'

Assignment Paper 1

The Rennaissance Literature

Ajit A. Kaliya

M.A. Sem 1

Roll No. 3

Enrollment No. 2069108420170013

Batch: 2016-18

Email- kaliyaajitbhai@gmail.com
Department Of English, MKBU

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Sub. Gender Discrimination In "Paradise Lost"

'Gender Discrimination.' This word is not new, since we can find reference of this word in practice from the origin of human race. We all are aware about the story of genesis. How God creates earth, animals, garden of Eden and first humans Adam and Eve? This story we can find in Bible, and John Milton also has taken this story for his epic poem, 'Paradise Lost'. But he makes it interesting by adding character of Satan. And also we found Eve's character more inferior than which has portrayed in Bible. We can find Discrimination in this epic very clearly. Different values of man and woman. There is Adam who represents men and Eve represents women. So let us see if we can find this problem in 'Paradise Lost' which is today also remains as a problem. But before going through this first let us make clear the meaning of this word.

Meaning Of Gender Discrimination

Ø A situation in which someone is treated less well because of their sex, usually when a woman is treated less well than a man. [Cambridge English Dictionary]

Ø The belief that one gender is superior to the other, especially that men are superior to women. [American Heritage Dictionary Of The English Language]

Ø Discrimination on the basis of sex, especially the oppression of women by men. [Collins English Dictionary]

So now we have clear meaning of the word so we can analyse if there is less value of Eve in ''Paradise Lost' than Adam?

Gender Discrimination in 'Paradise Lost'

The first human being created on the earth by god, was Adam, a man, not woman. Usually women considers as the mother of human race, but God created Eve, the first woman on the earth, by taking rib from Adam's side. Thus, she was inferior to Adam. Adam considers himself superior. In Bible We can find his authoritative nature in his words,

            "And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man." [2:23]

So, from beginning Adam's mentality was that he is superior and Eve is inferior, because she was created from him. Milton's Adam is also same type as in Bible. 'She was taken out of man.' These words are very significant. Why God did not create woman first and then man? It is mother who gives birth, so God should be created Eve first and by taken her rib should create Adam. In creation of Adam it might possible that God's psychology had played a role. As being a man he can not think to create woman first and give importance to her, naturally he  would create man first and give him more importance.

Adam's superior nature towards Eve also reflects in these lines,

In woman, then to studie houshold good,

And good workes in her Husband to promote.[9.233-34]

Adam belives that woman's work is doing household works and promote her husband. Today also many people belives that women should not go outside and work, they should take care of house. So Adam's those words are problematic.

When Eve asks for doing the work separately, Adam says,

The Wife, where danger or dishonour lurks,

Safest and seemliest by her Husband staies,

Who guards her, or with her the worst endures.[9.267-69]

So, Adam's belief was that danger and dishonour moves around woman. So she should stay with man and man can guard her. Now what was the reason for believing this? Eve was not coward. She was even more courageous than Adam. When Adam says her to look for Satan, he might attempt to tempt us, Eve argues that if we live in fear than where is freedom? And she separates from Adam. So she was not timid girl, then what is the reason for believing Adam that wife should stay with husband that he can protect her. Reason is his superior nature as examples given above.

Milton has portrayed Eve every way inferior to Adam except her beauty. In characterisation of Adam Milton has not put any defect, but in characterisation of Eve he put many deficiencies. She was very proud for her beauty. She falls in love with her own image when she sees her reflection in water. Satan identifies this demerit and decides to tempt her, and he also succeeds easily. Apart from her, Milton portrayed Adam's character as a strong, intelligent, rational thinker, and as perfect as a human being can be. He has an enormous capacity for reason, and can understand the most sophisticated ideas instantly.

God cursed Eve for eating the fruit of knowledge, but Adam was cursed because he followed his wife.

'On ADAM last thus judgement he pronounc’d.

Because thou hast heark’nd to the voice of thy Wife,' [10.197-98]

What does this reflex? God does not want that Adam submits to Eve. There is also proof in these lines,

"Wherein God set thee above her made of thee,

And for thee, whose perfection farr excell’d" [10.150-51]

So, we can find God's love for Adam and hatred for Eve. words of God's son are proof that God knowingly created Adam better than Eve.

In punishment also he punishes Eve harder than others. After being disobedient, three characters were cursed as God ordered. First the serpent, whose form Satan had taken.

Because thou hast done this, thou art accurst

Above all Cattel, each Beast of the Field;

Upon thy Belly groveling thou shalt goe,

And dust shalt eat all the days of thy Life. [10.175-78]

Then to Eve,

Thy sorrow I will greatly multiplie

By thy Conception; Children thou shalt bring

In sorrow forth, and to thy Husbands will

Thine shall submit, hee over thee shall rule. [10.193-96]

And last to Adam he says,

On ADAM last thus judgement he pronounc’d.

Because thou hast heark’nd to the voice of thy Wife,

And eaten of the Tree concerning which

I charg’d thee, saying: Thou shalt not eate thereof,

Curs’d is the ground for thy sake, thou in sorrow

Shalt eate thereof all the days of thy Life;

Thornes also and Thistles it shall bring thee forth

Unbid, and thou shalt eate th’ Herb of th’ Field,

In the sweat of thy Face shalt thou eate Bread,

Till thou return unto the ground, for thou

Out of the ground wast taken, know thy Birth,

For dust thou art, and shalt to dust returne. [10.197-208]

It was Satan who deceived Eve, but he never cursed. It is snake cursed whose form Satan had taken. After succeeds in his mission Satan was greeting with cheers in pandemonium. Eve cursed that she will suffer from the pain of childbirth and man will rule over you. Now earlier was not she submitted to Adam? Will she not give birth to the child if curse was not given? She was Adam had been already ruling over her, and she will give birth to child even if she was not cursed. So for Eve curse was only formality.

And if eating fruit of knowledge is sin, then Adam's sin is greater than Eve. Because he eats it for his own purpose to not loosing Eve. Eve was tempted but not Adam. He eats fruit willingly. So God should punish him harder than Eve.

After they cursed, Adam blames Eve and says why God ever created Eve? Adam also says that she is crooked by nature, created with flaws, and designed to tempt him.

Crooked by nature, bent, as now appears,

More to the part sinister from me drawn, [10.885-86]

Was she really crooked by nature? In this epic we can find only one demerit in her that she was was arrogant because of her beauty. Otherwise she was clever, lovable and kind person. It was she who suggested Adam that they can survive by loving each other. Flaws of Adam are more than Eve. Some readers finds Adam as a perfect man, without any flaw. But there is a great sinful thought in his mind. Adam confesses among Raphael about his intense physical attraction for Eve. After eating fruit they looks each other in a new way and turns to lust. But before eating the fruit also Adam was attracted physically towards Eve. So deficiencies were on both sides. Neither Eve was faulty nor Adam was perfect, but Adam thinks because of Eve all sufferings have came.

Before they leave the garden of Eden, Michael puts Eve to sleep and takes Adam up onto the highest hill where he show him a vision of humankind's future. Here also we can see Discrimination. From beginning God has been more merciful to Adam. He  creates Adam first, provide him more knowledge, cursed lighter, blames only on Eve, and here also Michael shows future of mankind only to Adam. Why he put Eve into sleep? Why did God want to give all the knowledge only to Adam? Both have committed same sin. Then why one is informed what will happen and other knew nothing? Does God also not want to educate woman? Possibility is there. For long time girls were not allowed to educate. Today also girls remains uneducated. Because the first woman on the earth, Eve also was victim of this problem. God provided knowledge only to Adam.

Thus, after those arguments we can say with certainty that there is 'Gender Discrimination' in many ways. Analysis of this epic makes this idea very clear. It was God who did Discrimination between man and woman and till today also this problem remains as a big problem.

References:

'Paradise Lost' by John Milton

Bible - Old Testament

Sparkenotes.com

Cambridge English Dictionary

American heritage Dictionary of the English language

Collins English Dictionary

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