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How To Stay With Eve In John Milton's Paradise Lost

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In Book IV of Milton’s Paradise Lost, Eve recounts her memory of her first living moments to Adam. Eve relates that upon seeing Adam, she turned around and began walking in the opposite direction. Eve then quotes the exact words Adam used to convince her to stay: “Return fair Eve! …my other half” (page 91, lines 481-488). Upon examining Adam’s words, I discovered that Adam takes advantage of Eve’s lack of knowledge when reasoning with her. He doesn’t tell her everything. He keeps a few pieces of important information to himself. Assuming all Adam’s logic is truthful and based on facts, then he has a very valid argument as to why she should stay with him. But since it is not based on substantial evidence, rather assumptions, as I …show more content…

So why is Adam being so dishonest here when meeting Eve? What does he stand to gain, or better yet, what does he stand to lose? For this, we refer back to Adam's vision. “In her summed up, in her contained, ...sweetness into my heart, unfelt before, ... inspired the spirit of love and amorous delight. She disappeared and left me dark. I waked to find her or for ever to deplore her loss and other pleasures all abjure.” (page 190, lines 473-480) With Eve and only Eve comes all these good feelings and pleasures, sweetness, love, delight, etc. And with her absence comes darkness, or a lack of these feelings. This is what Adam wants, and this is what he cannot bare to lose. So what does he do? He does whatever it takes to hold on to Eve. In this case, all that is required of Adam is a few assumptions and a little bit of dishonesty. Adam says “Whom thou fli’st, of whom thou art, his flesh, his bone. To give thee being I lent out of my side to thee, nearest my heart, substantial life to have thee by my side” (lines 482-485). Again, his knowing these for a fact is impossible. However, by relating them as facts, he is claiming two distinct and false things to be true: that he consented to lend her a piece of his body, and what he gave her originally played a huge role in the functioning of his own body. The first claim we know is false. As far

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