Adam and Eve

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews the two different versions of the story of Adam and Eve as we know it, the biblical version and the version from John Milton's "Paradise Lost". It examines how in both stories, Adam and Eve exist in a state of perfection before the fall of mankind and how Paradise (Eden) provides the idyllic setting in which Adam and Eve relish their divinely ordained and human love. It looks at how the relationship between Adam and Eve in Milton's "Paradise Lost" is psychologically more complex than it is in the Hebrew Bible and how in both stories, the couple enjoy their relative freedom before the fall, but they also act out certain roles and patterns.

From the Paper:

"Adam and Eve delight in their innocent existence and taintless love until the serpent executes his plan. In fact, Adam and Eve can be said to be co-dependent. There exists throughout Paradise Lost the implication that mundane love must not undermine divine love. Because Adam's love for God does not supersede his love for God, he chooses to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Fearful of losing Eve, Adam disobeys his creator and contributes to the fall of mankind. Adam's rationality and obedience did not weigh as much as his passion for his earthly partner. Almost as if their love was too good to be true, Adam and Eve succumb to the fate predicted by the angels."

More papers on Adam and Eve:

• Essay # 90267 : "Adam and Eve's Sin"
• Book Review # 102021 : "Paradise Lost": Adam and Eve's Separation"
• Analytical Essay # 23328 : "Milton's Adam and Eve"

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