The Blame Game and Regret// Emily Otts

    In Book Ten of Paradise Lost, we see the sorrow and guilt that the fall has brought upon Adam and Eve. Adam is wailing and upset over the fall. Eve tries to hard to console him, but he will not have it. She tries to suggest killing themselves in order to avoid passing the curse to their offspring, but Adam talks her out of it, explaining that their offspring will one day destroy the enemy. 

    It is interesting to me how the blame from earlier has shifted from blaming another person to blaming themselves. Adam earlier blamed Eve for the fall, even blaming her in front of God. Now, he blames himself. He even understands that generations will blame he for their suffering. "Who of all ages to succeed but, feeling/ The evil on him brought by me, will curse/ My head: 'ill fare our ancestor impure,/ For this we may thank Adam.' " (Paradise Lost, Book 10: 733-736). Eve also feels guilty, wanting to end it because of their deeds. 

    Guilt can really have an affect on someone. When you feel regret about something, the guilt and shame truly devour you. You tend to blame yourself. It can have an awful affect on a person, which we can clearly see here, with both Adam and Eve wanting things to end. Thankfully, they both decide it is better to work together through it. 

I commented on Abigale Bell's and Emma Dalgety's posts. 

Comments

  1. Emma Kate PattersonSeptember 28, 2021 at 8:17 AM

    I like that you pointed out that they debate killing themselves. This is an importantly concept in mental health today. If they really did think about killing themselves then we can see that even during this time people struggles with mental health.

    ReplyDelete
  2. IsabelleSeptember 28, 2021 at 9:19 AM

    It's interesting to me their ultimate decision not to kill themselves has a selfless tone. They know they are fallen now, but they know they will be saved by their future generations. The theme of hindsight and guilt are consistent throughout Milton's work.

    ReplyDelete

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