Biblical Allusion // Emma Kate Patterson

 In book ten Milton alludes to the Bible in lines 190-196. He alludes to the Bible by stating the idea that the wife must submit to her husband. Although most of the book is an allusion to the Bible I find this allusion in particular more interesting. I find it more interesting due to the fact that it was Eve that first ate the fruit and the consequence of eating of the fruit was the loss of innocence and the opening of eyes. It is because of the eating of fruit that Adam and Eve realized they were naked. This makes me question if eating the fruit is the reason that wives must submit to their husbands? Is it possible that it is because of this incident that women have never been equal to men and still aren't today? I think it is possible that it is possible that eating the fruit caused women to be unequal to men and are commanded to be submissive to their husbands. He also alludes to the bearing of children in these lines when he talks about multiplying. This is affected by the eating of the fruit also because it caused child birth to be painful. 


I commented on Emily Otts’ post and Emory Copper’s post.

Comments

  1. Emory CooperSeptember 28, 2021 at 1:02 AM

    You ask some good questions, Emma. As many good questions are, however, this one about why wives should submit to their husbands can be difficult to answer: personally, I would say yes, and no.
    First, to address the "no" part: Genesis 2:18 describes God's decision to "make an help meet" for Adam, which was made before the fall. So it seems that the created order for a woman is to submit to her husband (note: not to every man, but to her husband), that is, to submit to helping him, regardless of her sin of eating the fruit first (see also 1 Corinthians 11:6-9).
    Second, the "yes" part: in 1 Timothy 2:11-13, Paul says that he does not allow a woman to teach or take any other leadership position in authority over a man in the church (note: not necessarily in every area of life, but specifically in the church), but commands them to remain silent. Here is his reasoning: not only was Eve made after Adam was, but she was also deceived into rebelling against her husband's authority in disobedience when she ate the fruit.

    Let me be clear: I do not see these texts as evidence for any inequality between women and men in value, intellect, or significance. They just seem to express different methods by which that equality should be expressed.

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