Paradise Lost Character Analysis - 1965 Words

The Virtues of Marriage and Culpability of Authority In modern-day society, marriage is considered to be a capstone event in people’s lives, the culmination of their romantic endeavors in a lifelong, legally recognized partnership. In Paradise Lost, Milton’s characterization of the first union of human beings—the marriage of Adam and Eve—strips marriage down to its most basic, primal form, and uses Adam and Eve to explore the relationship between obedience and autonomy. The obedience expected of Adam and Eve from God is mirrored in the obedience Adam expects from Eve, and her desire for greater independence is met with confusion and concern. However, Milton’s characterization of Eve as both a sinner and a victim implies that God and Adam†¦show more content†¦Milton’s personal belief of what makes an ideal marriage is founded in a core set of values he prescribes to—values that Adam and Eve’s marriage do not seem to matc h, even before the Fall. This is evidenced in Book 4, where he writes, â€Å"Hail wedded Love, mysterious law, true source of human offspring, sole propriety In Paradise of all things common else. By thee adulterous lust was driv’n from men Among the bestial herds to range, by thee Founded in reason, loyal, just, and pure, Relations dear, and all the charities Of father, son, and brother first were known† (4.750-757). He emphasizes purity and an absence of lust, but sexual desire is present from the moment Adam sees Eve, as Adam explains that she â€Å"inspired the spirit of love and amorous delight† from that moment on (8.476-477). Milton speaks through the angel Raphael to further accent his belief, with Raphael warning Adam, â€Å"if the sense of touch whereby mankind Is propagated seem such dear delight Beyond all other, think the same vouchsafed To cattle and each beast†¦In loving thou dost well, in passion not, Wherein true love consists not; love re fines The thoughts, and heart enlarges, hath his seat in reason, and is judicious, is the scale By which to heav’nly love thou may’st ascend, Not sunk in carnal pleasure† (8.579-583, 8.587-593). For Milton, marital love should extend beyond the physical realm, and â€Å"carnal pleasure† actually weighs down a marriageShow MoreRelatedParadise Lost Character Analysis761 Words   |  4 PagesMilton’s Paradise Lost created a controversy among its readers concerning the manner in which Satan’s character is depicted. 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Unlike Genesis