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WHETHER HIS FIRST DESIGN.....WORST ENDURES (LINES 261-269)
On the fateful morning of the Fall, Eve proposes to go away from Adam and work separately so that they may be able to put in more work. Adam seems to have attained an instinctive grasp of Satan’s motives as well as his mode of operation. He warns Eve not to underestimate the power of their enemy Satan, about whom they have already been warned by their angel-guest. He surmises about the various possibilities of how Satan may set about his mission of tempting them. He feels that Satan may attempt to make them go back on their faithfulness and loyalty towards God, ie., Satan wants them to be guilty of disobedience. It alludes effectively to Eve’s insistence on working separately which is form of disobedience, though she does get a sort of tacit permission from Adam.
Secondly, Satan may attempt to disturb the peace and harmony of their married life. Nothing is more annoying to Satan than the conjugal love between Adam and Eve. Adam warns Eve that Satan may do all this or even worse than this. He, therefore, passionately appeals to Eve not to go away from his side, out of which (his rib) she has been created. He has always protected and guarded her and she would be safe from dishonor and danger under his protecting and watchful eyes. However, in spite of all his entreaties, Eve gets his reluctant permission to go and thus paves the way for the success of the evil plans of Satan.