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Paradise Revisited

Eve as Genius Loci

By Chloe HauxwellPublished 5 years ago 9 min read
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When God created Eve from the rib of Adam in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, the idea of disconnection between the two of them didn’t concern the deity. The Father prescribed an otherness to Eve, separating her from Adam through gender, but also Adam was shaped in the image of God, whereas Eve is made in the image of man. Though God was not worried about the possible gap, the otherness of Eve did however, concern Adam, as he attempted to bridge any possible gap, even though Adam recognized his own superiority. Lee Morrissey writes on this subject in his article “Eve’s Otherness and the New Ethical Criticism.” Morrissey brings up Book 9 of Paradise Lost in which Adam and Eve are together after the fall, closer than they ever were. “Eve's otherness is the result of Adam's seeing Eve as, literally, part of himself, which is to say, the same as himself. Adam treats Eve as if she were there to fulfill his process of self-fulfillment” (330). While many believe Eve caused the downfall of man, and through the context of the original story, one would, I disagree with Morrissey and argue the otherness of Eve comes from the difference in their roles in Paradise. Eve must act as a guide for Adam as Milton uses her as the genius loci in Paradise Lost.

The image of the genius loci reoccurs throughout Milton’s corpus, protecting and guiding the lost sheep. One of the most prominent is Genius in Milton’s masque Arcades. One can safely look to Arcades for the definition of Milton’s genius loci, “I am the power / Of this fair wood, and live in oaken bower, / To nurse the saplings tall, and curl the grove / With ringlets quaint, and wanton windings / wove”(44-48). From these lines stems a broad sense of what we come to expect from a genius loci. In the first few lines, we see the genius loci is powerful, but in the last lines I argue there is more to read into than the spirit protecting nature. Of course genius loci is protector of nature or atmosphere, but I suggest there is a double meaning that might be applied to “the saplings.” The features attributed to these saplings mirror the appearance of children, with ringlets in their hair, “ringlets quaint,” and help to guard their virtue, “wanton windings wove.” Milton outlines the characteristics of his genius loci early on in his career with his masque, written and then performed in 1634. Still, this idea of the guardian spirit does change slightly with each one he creates, while keeping the original character structure intact.

One text that takes into account Milton’s works, and outlines the character of a genius loci as I define it is Bath Anecdotes and Characters: by Genius Loci. The genius loci in this text explains his purpose explicitly to the reader, “My design, is to instruct you in whatever may conduce to your advantage, that is, to make you more morally wise and good”(10). Just as previously delineated when discussing the Genius of Arcades this guardian spirit is meant to act as a guide. The text goes on to explain whom the genius must protect and guide, “Every mortal has a Genius who constantly attend, and superintends his concerns, his pleasures… so has every county, town, or village” (10-11). This text suggests that every person and every space has genius loci, a character whose traits are foils for those of a guardian angel. With such parameters in place, one can allow Eve to take on the role of genius loci in Paradise Lost.

The Oxford English Dictionary has two definitions for genius loci, “A guardian spirit or god associated with a place”(1) or “the essential character or atmosphere of a place”(2). The second definition almost undeniably applies to Eve, for without her in the story, Satan would have no one to tempt to break the Father’s commandment. However this argument could just as easily be applied to the character of Adam, for without Adam, there is no Eve.

One might look to Book 4 to uncover Eve’s purpose in Eden. Adam describes man’s purpose when he says, “Man hath his daily work of body or mind / Appointed” (4.618-619). Adam eagerly accepts this existence just a few lines after when he tells Eve, “With first approach of light, we must be ris’n, / And at our pleasant labour,” (4.624-625). As he goes on to say that this labour consists of working the land and keeping it under control, one could read this as a metaphor for the two of them working on themselves spiritually and keeping a temperate mind. This idea not being all that farfetched, considering Milton’s views on temperance and spiritual growth sketched out in many of his works. Eve passively agrees to the idea of labour, but continues by bringing up the conversation as being detrimental to her purpose of keeping up on the work in the garden. The Oxford English Dictionary defines labour as; “to exert oneself physically or mentally” (1a). While Eve clearly knew she was doing physical labour, she didn’t feel as though she was flexing the mental labour muscles. Adam understands the idea of labour through the decree given to him by God, but in Eve’s case, there lays a deep connection with the nature outside of that decree. The reaction nature has at Eve’s presence highlights this relationship, “Eve… Rose, and went forth among her Fruits and Flours, / To visit how they prosper’d, bud and bloom, / Her Nurserie; they at her coming sprung / And toucht by her fair tendance gladlier grew” (8.40-47). The garden gravitates to Eve’s presence, growing stronger at her very touch. Adam does his work as God commands; however the reader doesn’t get a picture of nature reaching out for Adam’s touch.

The connection between Eve and her surroundings runs much deeper than just the physical. When Satan seduces Eve into breaking God’s commandment of abstaining from the forbidden fruit, there are a few factors that warrant discussion. First, Eve’s home feels the pain of her mistake, “Earth felt the wound, and Nature from her seat / Sighting through all her Works gave signs of woe, / That all was lost” (9.782-784). If one examines this passage further than just the betrayal of Eve eating from the forbidden tree, and the allowance of sin to enter the world, one comes to the realization of why Satan chose to attack Eve first over Adam. Because Eve serves as genius loci, Satan creates a deeper divide between her and nature when she breaks the commandment, and partakes of the fruit. “That all was lost” hits hardest under this theory, for Eden itself realizes that its protector, its guardian spirit failed, and therefore corrupts the rest of man. Adam follows Eve’s actions, whether they are good or evil. If Eve, this great protector, eats of the fruit, Adam feels he must also. Not to mention Adam needing to feel equal and even superior in knowledge to Eve. Satan sought Eve out first as he knew that Eve had started to achieve a type of autonomy from Adam. As a result of Eve’s autonomy, Satan knew Eve might be able to resist any temptation from Adam. Simply put, the same outcome may not have been reached had Satan whispered to Adam in his sleep.

This leads to yet another connection between the Genius in Arcades and Eve. A line of illusory circumstances runs through both texts, “But else in deep of night, when drowsiness / Hath locked up mortal sense, then listen I / To the celestial Sirens’ harmony” (Arcades62-64). This last phrase is the one I want to focus on here, “listen I to the celestial Siren’s harmony” evoke the image of Eve’s dream in Book 5 of Paradise Lost. Satan whispers in Eve’s ear while she sleeps, planting ideas, and images in her mind of her failure to abstain from the forbidden fruit and causing the fall of man. The dream scenes fuse night and day, reality and dream, just as Milton combines genius loci and Eve. When Satan says to her, “Why sleepst thou Eve? now is the pleasant time, / The cool, the silent, save where silence yields / To the night-warbling Bird” (5. 38-40), Satan asks Eve why she sleeps when beauty revolves around her in the darkness of the night. The same type of beauty that Genius speaks of in Arcades, locking up mortal sense, and experiencing what the world offers reflects in the situation between Eve and Satan. Both scenes rely on sleep and dreamlike states, though the scene between Satan and Eve contains different motives. This dreamlike state represents the bridge between the waking world and the dream realm just as Eve as genius loci characterizes the union of natural and supernatural.

Genius loci tend to have great responsibility and power in Milton’s writing. This is the same power that can be found in some of Milton’s female characters such as Dalila from Samson Agonistes, Sabrina from The Masque at Ludlow Castle: Comus, and the infamous Eve. The power to decide to eat the fruit or not, truly lives in Eve, the power to make Adam look good at the dinner with Raphael lives in Eve, and the power to allow the garden to prosper lives in Eve. Eve’s true responsibility given to her by God and by Milton, in this case, remains once again in guiding Adam. Eve’s responsibility in guiding Adam is exactly what the genius in Bath Anecdotes and Characters outlines in the quote I used earlier. As previously stated, many believe she guided him falsely. God exiled man, making life hard for them in a way that they deserve. As Adam and Eve desired to know, God gave them knowledge. However, Milton, through works like Areopagitica, advocates for the allowance of knowledge, especially in that Milton believed trial by fire was good for man’s soul. The ability to tell the difference between good and evil aside, Milton wrote Eve in such a way as to have the reader sympathize with her, and realize they too may have made the same decisions she did. Milton painted Eve in a guiding light, showing Adam the path to knowledge, and in turn the desire and ability to fight off evil with more to go on than just God’s decree. Milton recreated Eve as genius loci, not just of the garden, but also of Adam.

Milton’s Paradise Lost shows up in many influential texts throughout time, as does the image of a genius loci. Mainly in the context of romanticism, genius loci show up in many poems such as the albatross in Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner. One of the most notable texts influenced by Milton’s ideals and Paradise Lost is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which creates yet another avenue for critics to explore the continuance of the image of the genius loci. The monster represents the unnatural union of the natural and the cultural. Frankenstein’s monster experiences a similar otherness as Eve, and refuses to submit to an existence not meant for him. Genius loci continue to arise in literature, whether explicitly named or otherwise, as mankind needs a guide, a protector, a guardian spirit to lead them through paths and actions conducive to gaining wisdom and goodness.

literature
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About the Creator

Chloe Hauxwell

Hello and welcome to my profile. I'm on here trying to be a writer. I don't have a specific genre I stick to, so if you like eclectic then mine is the page for you! All feedback and critiques are welcomed. I'm always trying to improve. ☺️

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