what he lost -- Breanna Poole

 Does Satan want redemption? 

That seems to the theme that runs through the fourth book, underlying all over things. Satan often times reflects on his current present and what he lose during his war with God, and he comes so close every time to wanting redemption. What's so interesting is that Satan seems to know and understand why redemption is not possible for him -- because he's not truly sorry for what he did but for what he lost. This is best proven by his jealousy for Adam and Eve, that he could have lived in blissfulness like they are but by his actions he realizes he can never be like them again, even if he were to return to God and ask for forgiveness. And Satan justifies to himself why God would not extend an olive branch, but given that this is from Satan's point of view....I'm not sure how accurate it is. Satan believes that God knows that Satan's plea for forgiveness would be half-hearted at best, and that he was not truly sorry, which is why God didn't offer forgiveness -- because Satan in his heart does not want it. Is Milton saying this is what sets Adam and Eve's fall apart from Satan's? That Adam and Eve were actually regretful for what they did, while Satan was regretful for what he lost. 

I find it interesting that Satan remarks that he could have loved Adam and Eve, if not for his own fall which he believes has damned him not only to Hell but to eternal life as the ultimate bringer of chaos and perversion. Satan has resolved out of envy and grief to pervert God's vision for man. Not only is he jealous of these new creatures God has made and loved, but he also grieves the love he could have had for them and the life he could have had if he had remained at God's side.  It adds another layer of complexity of Satan, making him into a real figure rather than just the harbinger of all evil. 


P.S. I commented on Bryland and Brooke's posts. 

Comments

  1. Haylee LyndSeptember 13, 2021 at 6:13 PM

    Oh my goodness. I did not even think once to question whether Satan was a reliable narrator or not. Not that he is necessarily narrating Book IV, but you're right; it is from his point of view so do we truly know if he truly repented that he would be turned away? I say this, but also if I remember correctly, it has been established that Satan cannot be forgiven because he created sin. he has no excuse because, unlike the humans, he was not tempted by an outside source. Sin came from himself and him alone.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Taylor ViceSeptember 13, 2021 at 6:54 PM

    I totally agree with you saying that Satan is sorry for what he lost rather than what he did. He does not regret rebelling against God. Satan wanted to have a kingdom of his own, and he wanted to be the one true king. After he lost the war against God, Satan realizes that he had a great life, but he knows he can never go back to it because he will never be able to genuinely regret his actions.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A House Divided//Emily Otts

The words Jesus spoke in Matthew 12 remind me so much of this play: "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand." (Matthew 12:25) King Lear, at the end of the day, is about a family being divided multiple ways. These divisions arise over greed and hatred for one another and cause the whole family to be ruined because of it. King Lear first divides the kingdom after his daughter Cordelia does not proclaim her love to him, so he banishes her. Later, his daughters go against him for not doing as they asked, believing he is unfit and unworthy to be king, secretly plotting against him. But all of this comes to a head in Act 5. After capturing King Lear and Cordelia, Edmund plans to have them killed. You would believe the sisters would be able to work together because their plan is working, but an even greater division has risen between them. Both of them wish to have Edmund for themselves, and they plot against each o...
Read more

The Plague in Everyone// Emily Otts

     In part 4 of the Plague , Tarrou tells Rieux about how he has had the plague forever. Except, this is not the same plague as the one ravaging the town. Tarrou speaks of how his father was a lawyer who believed in the death penalty, how he saw so many people support it and be comfortable about it, and how he had to witness the executions of prisoners. He explains how this sort of mindset is a plague itself, one Tarrou had been fighting for a long time. " That's why everybody in the world looks so tired; everyone is more or less sick of plague. But that is also why some of us, those who want to get the plague out of their systems, feel such desperate weariness, a weariness from which nothing remains to set us free except death" (Camus, part 4, chapter 6). Tarrou wants to desperately not submit to such awful ways of thinking.      Tarrou does not realize it, but the plague he is talking about is sin. Everyone has it, some people give in to it and let...
Read more

The Thirst for Knowledge

     With Book Seven of Milton's Paradise Lost, Raphael is continuing his exposition on Satan's apostasy. The plan is to expose Adam and Eve to the wretched fate of those who cross God's will. The more he shed's light on the subject, however, the more Adam is inclined to ask for more information. He wants to know everything about the subject, as well as God and His creation.      However, while the taste of such knowledge leaves Adam yearning for more, there are boundaries. It is like a toddler eating a cookie... and eventually begging her mother for the rest of the jar. Is it a coincidence that the one thing Adam and Eve are not to touch is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? Most readers know how the story ends: these toddlers are never going to be content with a few cookies. They're going in for the jar.   There is a statement in the Bible that is constantly being repeated throughout the Old Testament: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of ...
Read more