Eve

In Paradise Lost Book IX, Eve is the microcosm for every woman in human history. She is the mother of humanity but it is her decision to eat from the Tree of Knowledge which will condemn her offspring to be fallen.

Reasons for falling

Eve's choses to eat from the Tree of Knowledge after she is tempted to do so by Satan. Whilst it is his twisted arguments and persuasion which makes her do so, Milton uses a temptation speech by her to show that Eve was not only making the decision from freewill but also decided to do so because she was rejecting God. Unlike Adam who basis his decision only really on his love for Eve (Milton mocking the impassioned but clearly wrong decisions made in romances) Eve makes her decision to Fall because she genuinely wants to.

• From the time of her creation, when she looks in the water and falls in love with her own reflection, Eve is linked to the flaw of vanity, and Satan as the serpent will use this defect against her. He links her with power and royalty, whilst also comments on her beauty to win Eve's trust and increase her confidence so that she does not realise that she is being tricked
• Professor John Richards, argues one of the most convincing elements of Satan's temptation of Eve is his attempt to turn her act of disobedience into an act of romance chivalry. Satan suggests to Eve that God won't incense his ire for such a petty trespass as eating the fruit. Then he continues: God will "praise / rather your dauntless virtue..." In the world of romance, the idea of obedience isn't nearly as important as the idea of courage, or what Satan calls here in perfect chivalric language "dauntless virtue." Satan is essentially tempting Eve to think of herself as a heroine of a romance. If the story of Eve had been framed in the genre of romance rather than in the genre of tragedy, then Eve might have been rewarded rather than punished for her eating of the fruit. Her courage would have been praised rather than her disobedience blamed. Therefore, Milton is showing the flaws in romance stories as he of course rejected them in favour to write Paradise Lost
• Satan also plays on Eve's naivety and her innocence by telling her that she should not fear death, which she does not even understand
• He also discredit the power of God. Arguing that God has denied Adam and Eve the fruit to keep them inferior. Satan is cleverly using this argument as he knows that Eve is concerned about in lack of reason and inferiority in comparison to both Adam and God. Satan tells her that by eating from the tree she will gain the knowledge and reason for which she craves

After the Fall

Milton's Eve in her prelapsarian life is an intelligent, elegant, beautiful and innocent character. Whom the mere sight of can even turn Satan…