gender relations in paradise lost and dom Flashcards
swetnam renaissance writings
women are froward
‘will ful and disobedient’
diane k mccolley on characters in paradise lost
miltons dramatic characters represent a spectrum of opinion and experience provoking debate on just about every issue we debate today
miltons representation of first man and woman advances renaissance and classical thought
eve says she acted according to what adam said
‘with thy permission then’
this alleviates guilt from eve’s character
adam is infatuated by eve
‘i from the infleunce of thy looks receive / access in every virtue’
so because of eve, adam feels like a better person
adam giving permission for eve to go
’ go for thy stay, not free, absents thee more’
if eve stays then she is not truly free - god has given her free will to exercise = it would make her more aggravated to stay
this conflicts with views in the 17th century
‘wives submit yourself to your husbands’ ephesians
diane k mccolley on milton and marriage
he redefined marriage as a mutual help through spiritual companionship
‘did not think wifehood coextensiv with womanhood’
duchess’ transgression through marriage allows her to express her own will’ - partriarchal order
duchess seeks marital intimacy - she protests with the idea that she is not a statue
’ this is flesh and blood sir
tis not the figure cut in alabaster’
independent nature links closely to elizabeth i
cee bliss- elizabeth seeks private happiness at the expense of public stability
ferdinand suspicious of duchess
his attitude echoes jean luis vive arguing women should be pure, their sole reason for intercourse should be to have children
ferdinand was suspicious of his recently widowed sister
‘observe the duchess to note all particulars of her haviour… i would not have her marrying again’
duchess disgregards patriarchal order when she proposes to antonio - placing a ring on his finger
contradicts the idea that women of the 17th century could not provide for themselves
how does adam admire eve
‘sole eve, associate eve’
‘daughter of god and man’
ephesians, ‘husbands love your wives as jesus loved the church
adam warning eve
’ the wife where danger and dishonour lurks, safest and seemlist by her husband stays’
eve is dominant
‘let us divide our labours’
eve is rational at first
beauty of the landscape ‘work under our labour grows, luxurious by restraint’
doctrine of discipline of divorce in 1643 by john milton
sulf sufficient female process to reorient ethos, libertarian belief
