Paradise Lost David Daiech Character Analysis

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In Milton, David Daiches explains that Eve’s defiant behavior attributed to her sinful downfall. Considering other factors as to why she ate the apple, Daiches further clarifies, “She was taken in by cunning lies, never having met with lies or cunning before. Eve falls through credulity;” (pg. 205). Daiches believes Eve’s inexperience to malicious behavior also contributed to her compliancy with Satan’s demand. While I do agree with Daiches that Eve’s disobedient nature lead to her downfall, the author places too much blame on her naivety. Eve’s actions are a result of her going against what she knows to be right, not her lack of knowledge. In Book 9 of Paradise Lost, Eve knows she is not suppose to eat the apple, and Milton confirms this point by stating that God “Forbids us then to taste, but his forbidding / Commends thee more, while it infers the good” ( lines 753-754). Even though Satan’s persuasion of an immature Eve may have been the reason she was brought to the apple, it was her disregard of the rules that caused her to actually eat the apple. The same scenario would not have occurred if Adam had been the one enticed by the serpent, and him and Eve are both equally new to the world. Adam would not have been convinced to commit the sin because he is also aware that it would go against God’s orders.

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