Paradise Lost

Book 5 further explores the topic of free will. Adam is correct when he assures Eve that she hasn’t yet sinned, but the threat of sinning frightens them even though they can’t picture why they would disobey God. Eve’s dream highlights her weakness as a woman, so easily led to the Tree through her lack of free will. Even though Adam assures her she has choice in the matter, the dream is persuasive and disturbing in how tempted Eve was to eat from the tree. Adam and Eve are confused about the dream, unsure why an angel would lead her to the forbidden tree in the first place. They decide to continue living in Paradise, knowing they have not sinned. This is crucial foreshadowing because Eve is now aware that there is danger in Paradise but she has the choice to avoid it. The reader knows Eve will eventually disobey God, and it is this choice of disobedience that causes humanity’s fall. Notable here is that Adam, whom Eve is submissive to, guides Eve back to bliss, but even so, Eve will turn away from the man who has the power and influence in their relationship. Milton’s suggestion, therefore, is twofold: that women are so weak they would lose sight of their husband’s guidance, and that Satan is more powerful than man.

When Raphael visits Adam and Eve to warn them about the danger permeating Eden, the issue of free will is again discussed. Because God knows Adam and Eve will choose to disobey him, the conversation with Raphael is a test meant to prove that God tried to prevent the fall of humankind. Thus, all the blame lies with Adam and Eve. They were warned, they were told they had free will, and yet they still chose wrong. The scene with Raphael is interesting because it is unclear if Eve remains part of the conversation or if she is unwelcome in such a celestial encounter. Even the idea that Adam conversed with an archangel was unheard of in Milton’s society, in which the idea that such a powerful angel would eat and speak with mere humans seemed impossible, all because of the mistake Adam and Eve made. Milton blames Adam and Eve for the fall of humankind, but he also blames them for preventing future men from consorting with Heaven.

The story Raphael tells about Satan’s civil war is important in that it identifies the trigger for Satan’s envy and anger. After being a powerful angel for so long, Satan could not comprehend that God came come up with a Son more powerful than Satan. By Book 5, the reader is familiar with this characteristic of Satan, but Milton enhances this characterization with irony. Satan’s comment that it is unjust to serve someone or something without any debate echoes the anti-royal sentiment Milton himself felt. This draws a parallel between Satan and Milton: Milton’s society told him to serve the king of England because he was supposedly appointed by God, and Satan’s society tells him to serve the Son because he is appointed by God. Milton may be encouraging his readers to be less like Satan and more like Abdiel, who faithfully accepts the natural hierarchy of God as all-powerful. Milton’s king is not part of this natural hierarchy, so serving a human king would be blasphemous, much like Beelzebub serving Satan instead of God.