[Final Paper] Diana Warwick and Sue Bridehead as heirs of Milton’s Eve

In Paradise Lost by John Milton, Eve gains pivotal importance as a character when she eats from the forbidden fruit and sets in motion the fall of mankind; likewise, in the novels Diana of the Crossways by George Meredith and Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy, Diana Warwick and Sue Bridehead are vital characters who trigger many of the events in the novels through their desire for knowledge and independence. The three women are connected not only by this, but also by the temptation to assuage their vanity, their struggle in choosing between the spirit and the flesh. Eve, Diana and Sue seek to find their own identities in their male dominated environments, where they are seen by men as the necessary companions for their external completion. According to Luiz Sá, Jacques Derrida’s concepts of Destinerrance "unites under one heading destiny, inheritance, and errancy" (102) which can be applied to the connection between these three characters; it can be said that Diana and Sue are heirs of Milton and Eve through Meredith and Hardy. In Diana of the Crossways and Jude the Obscure, Diana and Sue inherit from Eve not only the desire to learn and be independent, but also the supposed blame of being the cause of men’s falls and mistakes, they are the new Eves of their societies.

In Paradise Lost Eve is not allowed to take part in the conversations between the visiting angels and Adam. When Raphael is sent by God to warn them about the presence of an enemy in Eden he is told to “Converse with Adam” (5.230); later, when Michael is sent to show Adam the future, he “drenched [Eve’s] eyes” (11.367) so that she would sleep while they talked. In a similar way, Diana and Sue are kept from positions of power and decision making, even if they have some access to knowledge. Diana is an intelligent woman who knows a lot about politics, but she can only have the position of hostess in her own home, throwing dinner parties where politics, literature and other subjects are discussed; she cannot be a member of the Parliament herself and her published novels are signed with a pen name . Sue is also intelligent and had more opportunities to study and learn than Jude had; however, she needs the endorsement of a man to get a position of training teacher. Furthermore, Jude withholds from her the information that he is married; he purposefully avoids telling her something that is essential for her to make decisions about her own life. Diana and Sue are, in a way, in a better position than Eve because they have a chance to acquire more knowledge than she had before eating from the Tree of Knowledge; nonetheless, their situation is very similar, Diana and Sue, like Eve, do not truly retain the power to choose as they wish because society imposes their ideals and beliefs on them; Eve was put to sleep, Diana and Sue need to submit to their husbands, the church and society rules.

Marriage is an important discussion in Diana and Jude, the lives of Diana and Sue revolve around the need to be married in order to be respected by society. Redworth and Jude see the two women as the companions they need for their completion, in the way that Adam asks God for a companion (PL book 8) and later decides to eat form the Tree of knowledge so that he and Eve could stay together (PL book 9). Diana marries Mr. Warwick following an implusive need to distance herself from her best friend's husband who had made advances towards her. She understands that the only way to avoid living with her friend is to have her own home, which she can achieve only by marriage. Sue marries Phillotson in an impulsive move to distance herself from Jude as soon as she learns that he is married. These impulsive decisions prove to have been wrong for both women because they are too different from their husbands and cannot have a real connection to them. Eve does not choose to be Adam's wife, but she also does not feel like she has an equal relationship with him and when Satan, disguised as a serpent, plays on her vanity she chooses to appease the flesh, in detriment of the spirit, which would be obdience to God.

Following in the footsteps of their predecesor, Diana and Sue also give in to their vanity in ways that gain society's disaproval and their banishement from its good grace. Diana not only has an affair and abandons her husband to live on her own, she also sells the secrets of the man she falls in love with to assuage her vanity of being better informed than a famous newspaper editor,  she has a vision of "Mr. Tonans petrified by the great news, drinking it, and confessing her ahead of him in the race for secrets" (4478). Sue also shows her vanity in many instances, for example when, after she is already married, she writes Jude that if he wants he can love her (3133). Sue's abbandonment of her husband and her unmarried life with Jude also places her as an outcast from society. Diana and Sue regret their decisions and choose to live according to what is expected of them by marrying respectably and being good wives; however, they do not find the contentment and peace that Eve finds with Adam when they leave Eden for Earth. The difference in their feelings adds meaning to the original ideas in Paradise Lost and are in agreement with Milton's ideas on marriage expressed in his The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, in which he advocates that a marriage where there is "indisposition, unfitnes, or contrariety of mind, arising from a cause in nature unchangeable" should not be enforced on any couple.

Eve is blamed for eating from the forbbiden fruit and leading to the loss of Eden by both her and Adam, who also eats from the fruit to accompay her. It is ironic that Sue, while asking Phillotson to let her go live with Jude, also accuses Eve of being the cause of her problems and wishes she had never fallen, she tells him that "no poor woman has ever wished more than I that Eve had not fallen" (4302). The irony is accentuated by the fact that as soon as Phillotson lets her go she is also blamed for the misfortunes that he encounters becasue of this. Like Eve and Sue, Diana is also blamed by society for Mr. Warwick's decline in health, they argue that he is sick because of her abandonment and that if she went back to him, he would certainly get better.

It is clear that Eve, Diana and Sue are connected to one another by their personalities and the events in their lives. Analyzing their conection through the concept of Destinerrance it can be said that Milton's Eve errs and meets Diana and Sue, even though they were not the intended destiny the author had for her. Diana and Sue are heirs of Eve through Meredith and Hardy, who are in their turn heirs of Milton through the tradition that they have elected to be a part of. Diana and Sue are the new Eves of their society because they choose to search for knowledge and freedom, trying to find their identities independetly of a man and marriage. They defy society as Eve defied God's orders and the angels' and Adam's counsels for caution. Eve finds peace in the end with Adam because she is now on equal footing to him and she can reach her inner paradise. Diana and Sue do not have such a happy end, they have to choose between the life they really wish for and that would banish them from society, and a life of contentement at most which is the price they pay to be respect in their enviroments. The choice they make is to appease society and become good, obdient wives, which shows that they are heirs of Eve not only becasue of who they are, but also because society in general still expects women to present a certain behaviour in order to avoid being another Eve, destined to fall and take men with them.

Works Cited

Hardy, Thomas. Jude the Obscure. Ed. Amy M. King. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003. Ebook.

Meredith, George. Diana of the Crossways. United States of America, 2004. Project Gutenberg. Ebook.

Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Ed. Philip Pullman. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005. Ebook.

Milton, John. "The Doctrine & Discipline of Divorce." The John Milton Reading Room. Ed. Thomas H. Luxon. Dartmouth College, 2014. Web.

Sá, Luiz F. F. "Shalimar, the Ex-Centric: Rushdie Reads Milton Through Derrida." Itinerários, 37 (2013): 97-109.

CQ - Paradise Lost Book 9

Degradation in Paradise Lost – Book 9

One of the points that calls attention in Books 1 and 2 of Paradise Lost is the fact that Satan is represented like a hero, so much so that it is difficult for the reader not to sympathize with him and feel the injustices he has been victim of. In Book 9 this image of Satan as a hero is deconstructed.

In Book 9 of Paradise Lost Satan “involved in rising mist” (75) infiltrates in Paradise one more. He observes God’s newest creations and realizes that he could have been happy if he could have walked around and enjoyed “hill and valley, rivers, woods and plains” (116) and he suffers from this realization and turns all this good into poison. Here Satan is no longer represented as the strong character that we sympathized with previously. He is set on seeking his revenge, but his arguments are not organized, he is confusing and seems to be deceiving himself with lies, contrary to what happens in the begging of the Paradise Lost, when he uses his cunning to deceive his fellow Fallen Angels.

This contrast between the first impression that the reader gets of Satan as a heroic figure and the degraded single-minded bitter being that he turns into in Book 9, seems to emphasize Milton’s ideas that sin is destructive and nothing good can come from disobeying God and distancing yourself from Him. Satan is lost in his own lies and desire of revenge, he cannot think properly anymore and this is a direct result of his fall.

Similarly, Adam and Eve show their different behavior from when they are yet innocent and pure in the beginning of Book 9 and when they have eaten from the Tree of Knowledge. Their first discussion about whether or not to work separately is more sensible, their discussion after disobeying God is bitter and irrational. Their change in behavior is also clear in the different from the pure lovemaking of before to the lust they surrender to after eating from the Tree of Knowledge.

The falls of Satan and Adam and Eve are similar in the sense that their behaviors are changed the moment they disregard God to follow their own ideas, passions and desires. All of them suffer changes that cannot be undone as a direct consequence of the sin they committed.

  

Milton, John. The Annotated Milton. Ed. Burton Raffel. New York: Bantam Dell, 2008. E-book.

CQ - Paradise Lost Book 3

Free will  in Paradise Lost – Book 3

In Paradise Lost – Book 3, one of the central ideas that Milton presents is that of Man’s free will and the consequences of his choices, an idea that can be found in the New Testament: “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” (1 Corinthians 6.12)

In the third book of Paradise Lost there is a shift from Hell and the Fallen Angels to Heaven and God, The Son and the Faithful Angels. Here God watches the events in Hell, see Satan flying to Earth to approach Man and try to corrupt them as his revenge on God. The Father sees what is happening and foresees what will yet happen. The Father explains to His Son that Man will bend to temptation and be responsible for their fall. God’s discourse in Book 3 and his arguments are essential for Milton’s goal of justifying God and his actions towards mankind.

Knowing that Man will fall, the Father says that they have to be punished or they can be redeemed if someone would die in their place. The Son offers himself to die for mankind. This sacrifice is the opposite of the one undertaken by Satan. When in Hell, Satan offers to sacrifice himself to look for God’s new creation, Man, and corrupt them, causing their fall. The Son offers himself to die in order to restore Man to their original place.

As the message in Corinthians 6.12 points out, God argues that he has given Man free will, but when Man chooses badly they shall face the consequences. Therefore God defends Himself and for He cannot be blamed by Man’s decision based on the free will that was granted them.

This idea defended by Milton goes against what was believed by the Calvinists during his time, that every man’s fate was decided before his birth and he could do nothing to alter this. The God believed in by the Calvinists would be, according to the ideas expressed by Milton in Paradise Lost – Book 3, extremely difficult to defend and justify, therefore the need of the extended argument given by God in defense of himself and in negation of a predestination in the fall of Man.

  

Milton, John. The Annotated Milton. Ed. Burton Raffel. New York: Bantam Dell, 2008. E-book.

CQ - Paradise Lost Book 2

Corrupted nature of the Fallen Angels in Paradise Lost – Book 2

The second book of John Milton’s Paradise Lost presents us with the consultation of the Fallen Angels regarding what would be the best thing for them to do now that they are stranded in Hell. Satan requests that those who have any ideas speak up and Moloch, Belial, Mammon and Beelzebub present what they think to be the best alternative.

Satan invokes the congregation of Fallen Angels saying that they are still the “Powers and Dominions, deities of Heaven” because they are immortal and even a place like Hell would not be enough to weaken them and that he has not given up on Heaven. He asks that those who have ideas on how better to regain their place in Heaven speak to them. The debate that thus ensues is reminiscent of political debates and could be a parody of these events which Milton used to take part in.

Moloch is the first to speak and he suggests open war. In truth, he knows that they cannot hope to win and his suggestion is only an attempt to end things, for he has difficult accepting defeat and suffering. Moloch would rather die, if they can be killed at all. Belial is the next one to speak and he suggests that they accept defeat and remain calm. He is soft-spoken but his words actually reveal his character as a lazy being. What he tries to induce his companions to is a total lack of action; he argues that it is better for them to do nothing than to risk more punishment.

Mammon has a different suggestion, and probably the one that would have been better for the Fallen Angels. He proposes that they transform Hell in their own kingdom, mimicking Heaven. His idea is well received by his companions, but Beelzebub noticing this interferes. The idea presented by Beelzebub is that they seek their revenge on God by corrupting his beloved new creation: men. This plan is actually what Satan has wanted from the beginning and is present by Beelzebub eloquently and, once the others accept that this is the better course of action, Satan can offer himself as their hero who will face the perils of leaving Hell to seek this new world where men will live.

The corrupted nature of the Fallen Angels is very clear in their speeches, in how they try to deceive the others to accept their ideas. Worst of all is Satan who, not only claimed for himself the command of Hell, but also manipulated the others into following his idea of revenge while passing by the hero who will sacrifice himself for the benefit of them all. So far in the poem, Satan is very clearly a political figure and his speeches are sophisticated, which works well to his purposes but exposes his true deceptive nature.

Milton, John. The Annotated Milton. Ed. Burton Raffel. New York: Bantam Dell, 2008. E-book.

CQ - Paradise Lost Book 1

Paradise Lost as a combination of the classical and the Christian traditions

The Book 1 of John Milton’s Paradise Lost establishes the subject matter of the epic poem which is the first disobedience of man and its consequences. The beginning of the poem is an invocation of the Muses and a declaration of the poet’s belief in the superiority of his work.

In the first two sentences of the poem, Milton explains that he will talk of the loss of Paradise when man first disobeyed God by eating a fruit from the forbidden tree and of its restoration to man by Christ. The poet then invokes a “Heav’nly Muse” to inspire him in his work. It is interesting to notice that Milton Christianizes a figure of the classical world by saying that the muse he is invoking is heavenly and that she inspired Moses to write the Ten Commandments and teach it to the Jews, as we can read on lines 6-8.

Milton declares his intention of writing an epic poem that will be above those of the classical authors that inspired him, Homer and Virgil. He wants to try in his poem “Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme.” (16) The fact that he invokes a Christianized Muse to help him achieve this seems to indicated that Milton believe his work to be more important than those who came before, because his inspiration comes from the true God, even if the figure represented is a classical one.

Milton draws together two traditions, the classical and the Christian, to compose his epic poem. He expects to explain the disobedience of man, not only Adam, but all mankind, and “justify the ways of God to men” (26). The juxtaposition of the two traditions shows that Milton acknowledges the greatness of the classical epic poems and is paying attention to the lessons learned with them by writing in the appropriate format, including by evoking the muses in the begining. But he also believes his poem to have a more important subject because he is inspired by the Holy Spirit and that it will make Paradise Lost the greatest epic poem written so far.

Milton, John. The Annotated Milton. Ed. Burton Raffel. New York: Bantam Dell, 2008. E-book.

Death in John Milton’s poem “Lycidas”

John Milton’s poem “Lycidas” is a pastoral elegy that not only laments the death of a dear friend drowned in the sea, but also discusses death and the promise of eternal life after the material existence on earth.

            The lyrical voice begins the poem by mentioning many plants that are each sacred to a different god and he says “I come to pluck your berries harsh and crude / And with forced fingers rude” (122), which sets out the tone of his lamentation throughout the poem. Like the berries that he is plucking before their time he thinks that his friend is “dead ere his prime” (123). The lyrical voice also seems to be worried about his own death in the face of his friend’s early demise, this can be seen when he invokes the Muses and say “So may some gentle muse / With lucky words favor my destined urn” (123).

The poem follows to tell us how the lyrical voice and Lycidas were friends and happy shepherds and that now all of nature is morning the young man’s death as much as his friend: “Whom universal nature did lament”. (125) The lyrical voice questions where the muses where when his friend died, but reckons that they would not have been able to do anything.

The lyrical voice then expound how unfair he thinks it is that his friends that had lived laborious days and was a pure spirit was taken from life before he could receive his reward for leading such a life, before his fame. The god Phoebus interrupts the poet to correct him saying that fame is not for the mortal life and that Lycidas may expect his reward in Heaven. It is interesting that we have a Greek god, Phoebus Apollus, promising the existence of a Heaven that is clearly Christian: “And perfect witness of all-judging Jove, / As he pronounces lastly on each deed. / Of so much fame in Heav’n expected thy meed”. (126)

“Lycidas” is a poem that discusses death and the possible existence of a Heaven and a Hell. The lyrical voice questions the unfairness of death at a young age, before you had the chance to live your life to its fullest, but the interference of a god correcting him and reminding him of the fair judgment of Jove and a Haven for eternal life, seems to express the poet’s belief in this eternal existence in bliss after the fleeting period of life on earth.

Milton, John. “Lycidas” The Annotated Milton. Ed. Burton Raffel. New York: Bantam Dell, 2008. 122-132. E-book.