This is a final portion of my thoughts on a dilemma (previously posted here (the dilemma) and here (initial response)) grounded in Milton's Paradise Lost. Reading the previous posts will be essential to understanding what I share in this post...
ADAM’S FAITHFULNESS
In Adam’s final plea, he entreats Eve to “leave not the faithful side that gave thee being, still shades thee and protects!” (Milton, Book 9, 265-266). In this appeal, we see Adam asserting his faithfulness to Eve. He had been ever-present with her and desires for her to return the sentiment. It seems that Adam fears physical separation to be synonymous with unfaithfulness (this idea is fully presented in this article). Second, Adam asserts his ability to provide defense for Eve. He sees himself as a shield between her and the enemy.
Adam’s final line in this portion of the dialogue is telling of events to come. Adam asserts that he is the one “who guards her or with her the worst endures” (Milton, Book 9, 269). This reiterates Adam’s faithfulness to Eve and claims that, even if she does not allow him to be her guard, he will still remain true to her, enduring whatever may come her way. CS Lewis provides a precise term for this commitment which Adam expresses: uxorious. Adam sees that he will not be able to sway Eve from her decision, so he takes an inferior status in their relationship. He allows her to make the decision and he willingly obliges to her whim. Since Adam’s loneliness prior to Eve’s creation was so severe, he determines that company with her in death is superior to life without her, though he remain in Paradise.
This is further emphasized by Eve’s words to Adam at the conclusion of the chapter:
Being as I am, why didst not thou, the head,
Command me absolutely not to go,
Going into such danger as thou saidst?
Too facile then thou didst not much gainsay,
Nay, didst permit, approve, and fair dismiss! (Milton, Book 9, 1155-1159)
Here, Eve points the blame at Adam. He was “the head” and therefore had the responsibility of leading her, not permitting or approving of her own resolutions. Yet, Adam did not choose to assert his authority and instead, as Lewis rightly terms it, behaves in uxoriousness.
When Eve tells Adam of her “fatal trespass” (Book 9, 889), Adam responds with another statement of faithfulness. “We are one, one flesh: to lose thee were to lose myself” (Book 9, 958-959). Adam understands that it may be possible for God to create another woman for him, but he determines that he wants only Eve, understanding that they were “one flesh.”
After both Adam and Eve eat of the forbidden fruit, their first action is to have sex – to partake in the action which epitomizes their union as one flesh. Adam had feared being alone forever, so he eats of the fruit offered by Eve, thus ensuring their eternal union and then he immediately requests that they “play” due to his intense lusting (Book 9, 1027-1033). While Lewis’ interpretation of these lines are a mark of the fall,[1] it can also be seen as telling of Adam’s motivation. He wants to remain “one flesh” with Eve and so he executes two actions. First, he eats of the fruit, ensuring that they will not be separated by death. Second, he leads her to have “their fill of love and love’s disport” until they are “wearied with their am’rous play” (Milton, Book 9, 1042, 1045).
Adam’s fear of renewed solitude outweighs his fear of any other consequence. This includes both death and separation from God. Adam had God’s presence prior to Eve’s creation, yet he still had an awareness of a keen need which was not fulfilled by God’s presence[2]. This need was fulfilled by Eve, therefore Adam chooses Eve and the fulfillment which he derives from her presence over Paradise. Adam’s sin is, then, rooted in his creation: he has a need for companionship and chooses to fulfill that need when he eats of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
[1] The distinction between Adam and Eve’s sexual interaction before the fall in comparison with their sexual interaction after the eating of the fruit is indeed notable, though Waldock argues against this distinction being as notable as Lewis or I give Milton credit.
[2] It is important to note that this need was not necessarily sex; it is not explicitly defined as such by Milton. Additionally, from a Biblical perspective, it is important to note that God does not fault Adam for desiring companionship. Contrastly, God affirms this desire by stating “it is not good for man to be alone.” Therefore, it can be inferred that there was something about God’s relationship to Adam on earth which was unsatisfying and was meant to be unsatisfying.
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