Paradise Lost Book 9: Line 904-916 - Summary

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SOME CURSED.....WOE (LINES 904-916)

      Eve’s delay in returning fills Adam with misgivings and anxiously he goes out in search of her with a garland of roses in his hand. He soon finds her near the Tree of Knowledge with a bough of freshly plucked fruit in her hand. His heart sinks at the sight but Eve cheerfully tells him of the wise serpent that allured her to eat the forbidden fruit with magical powers. Adam does not react openly but feels that Eve is totally ruined and lost and vows to eat the fruit and perish along with her because of his great love for her.

      Adam is stunned and speechless on hearing Eve’s story and dismayed that such a holy, divine and sweet creature like Eve should transgress God’s command so easily. He feels that the Fall of Eve must have been brought about by some cursed enemy through some clever trick, still unknown to them. She has not only allowed herself to be ruined but has ensured Adam’s ruin too because he has resolved to die with her. Life was lonely in Paradise when he requested God to give him a companion and God created Eve out of his rib. If, she dies, Adam will have to live alone once again, and in loneliness the glorious Paradise would be merely a wilderness. He cannot live without the sweet companionship of Eve with whom God has joined him in marriage.

      Even if another Eve is created for him, the memory of this Eve, will always haunt his mind. Eve is the flesh of his flesh, bone of his bone and the existence of one is inseparable from that of the other. It is immaterial to Adam whether Eve lives in happiness or misery. In both bliss and woe, he is to share the lot of Eve. Thus, Adam exhibits his boundless love for Eve, by his resolve to eat the fruit even though he is not deceived about the true nature of the fruit.

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