The Parallels between Sin and Eve in "Paradise Lost"

We discussed briefly in class the relationship between the allegorical character Sin and Eve, but I want to further elaborate on the similarities between these two characters and discuss the reasoning behind Milton's personification of Sin as a woman of power.

For starters, Sin is characterized in Book 2 as a monstrous "woman to the waist, and fair,/ But ended foul in many a scaly fold/ Voluminous and vast, a serpent armed/ With mortal sting" (650-653). She serves as yet another embodiment of female sexuality as disgusting. Likewise, Eve is credited by society as being the cause for female sexuality becoming dirty- many people say that Eve's decision to eat of the Tree of Knowledge is the reason why women have to deal with menstruation, the pain of childbirth, and why sex became a pastime instead of a means to repopulate. These consequences and aspects of the female body are often viewed as revolting.

Both female characters are granted power by God accompanied by the free will to make their own decisions. Eve is granted the entire Garden of Eden and influence over her counterpart, Adam, in exchange for refusing to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Her amount of free will is described in Book 4 when the narrator tells us of Eve's creation; she tells Adam, "Till I espied thee, fair indeed and tall,/...Less winning soft, less amiably mild,/ Than that smooth wat'ry image; back I turned" (478-480).  The narrator continues to describe how Eve had to be coaxed into giving Adam her hand and submitting, proving that Eve was independent and had her own agenda prior to being explained her situation. While there are some who believe that Satan is responsible for The Fall, I think it is important to note that Eve had the capability to make her own decision but failed to follow God's command. Sin, also, was given power and instructions by God and she also failed of her own free will. Sin tells Satan in Book 2, "The key of this infernal pit by due,/ And by command of Heav'n's all-powerful King/ I keep, by him forbidden to unlock/ These adamantine gates" (850-853). This coincides with the instruction that God gave Eve. Almost immediately, Sin expresses her freedom of choice by stating: "But what owe I to his commands above" (856). Again, the female character refuse to obey the commands of the greater male-oriented power in their lives.

The story of Eve is a well-known one, but Milton's decision to orient Sin as a woman- a woman pregnant with hounds and scaly as a snake- and give that woman power is a curious one. I think it is plausible that Milton was playing with gender; a female Sin juxtaposes nicely with the male Satan and God. However, I also think that the depiction of the grotesque figure as womanly was also influenced by Milton's personal experiences in the society in which he lived as well as the other writers he mimicked his work after.