Ramos �1
Maria Ramos
English 260A
Paper #1
27 October 2017
Eve as Lyra, Mrs. Coulter, and Mary Malone
Phillip Pullman is an award winning author most commonly recognized for his trilogy
His Dark Materials. This trilogy is made up of The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The
Amber Spyglass. This collection of books are fantasy fiction that are intended for young audience
but is also catching the attention of many adult readers. This trilogy revolves around the
protagonist, Lyra Belacqua, who goes off on an epic adventurous trek to save all universes by
acting as a second Eve in a new Fall of Man. In this fiction there are multiple universes in which
Lyra travels to and meets Will Parry, who serves as her Adam. Their uncertain adventures
signifies their journey from childhood to adolescence just as Adam and Even journey from
innocence to experience. This is not just any fantasy tale though, Pullman challenges the
existence of God and Eve’s compliance to man. He basically creates a new version of the Fall of
Man.
This trilogy was inspired by John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Milton’s epic poem depicts a
Judeo-Christian account of the Fall of Man, the temptation of Adam and Eve by Satan and their
later exile from Paradise. Paradise Lost tells the story of Adam and Eve, how they came to be,
and how they lost their place in Paradise. It is a narrative poem of the story you would read in
Genesis.
Ramos �2
In Milton’s poem Eve was created from Adam, for Adam. She was made of one of his
ribs to be his partner. She was meant to be submissive to Adam although in no way is lacks the
intelligence to be independent. She just chooses to depend on him. For example there is a part of
the poem where an angel comes to speak to Adam and tell him of war going on. After a while
Eve leaves to go tend to her garden because she is aware of her submissive role. Milton states,
“Yet went she not, as not with such discourse / Delighted, or not capable of her ear / Of what was
high: such pleasures she reserv'd, / Adam relating, she sole Auditress” (VIII, 48-51). Milton
made sure to point out that she wasn’t lacking comprehension but merely knew what was
expected of her. This showed Eve was very knowledgeable. Another characteristic of Eve was
her narcissistic and selfish ways which showed the bad side of her. This is seen from her rise to
her fall. When she is created she glances at herself in water and falls in love with her reflection.
This is also seen when Satan, disguised as a serpent, is able to persuade her to eat the forbidden
fruit by complimenting her appearance. She even later goes as far as to blame Adam for her sin
then begs him to eat the fruit and have the same fate as her. Through these carefully thought out
inclusions, Milton is able to show us an evil, selfish side of Eve. These were all acts of pure
selfishness. She was not just shown as intelligent and evil, but as a good, kind Eve. This is shown
after the fall when she apologizes to Adam. Her love for ...
