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Benjamin Holmes
Mr. Wright
Honors World Literature II
27 January 2015
The Position of Women in Society Due To the First Temptress
A view of the female gender as inferior to their male counterparts has existed in society
for countless centuries, only abolished relatively recently. For this reason, the idea of women
solely occupying household duties is prevalent in many works of literature, artwork, and even
modern television commercials. The prevention of women to occupy higher positions in society
arguably stems from the actions of Eve in the creation story of Genesis. Here Eve is displayed as
the significant female archetype of a temptress, where she encourages her husband to eat the
forbidden fruit and is sentenced by God to a life of inferiority to Adam. The fact that this view
can be seen across all reaches of society up until the last hundred or so years illustrates the power
and effect this archetype has on our perception of the female gender. Paradise Lost elaborates
further on Eve’s portrayal, introducing dialogues on free will and classifying the methods she
used to tempt her ignorant husband. Beyond the creation story and its interpretations, numerous
examples of artwork also depict Eve or another female as a temptress through indirect
characterization. Overall, a perception of the female gender as a temptress is perpetuated by
Eve’s use of sensuous beauty to encourage Adam’s eating of the fruit in Paradise Lost, the
downfall of Adam in Genesis, and the female loss of innocence portrayed by Reposition of the
Virgin and classic Disney Pixar films.
Though Genesis does not go into detail when describing Eve’s actions, Eve’s punishment
and other indirect characterization introduces the temptress archetype to be described further in
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Paradise Lost. In fact, Adam’s acceptance of the apple is described in a single line. For this
reason, her portrayal of the archetype is most established later on during Adam and Eve’s
confrontation with God. Here, Adam immediately places the blame on Eve, stating “the woman
whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate” (12). Though this does
not describe the motivation or method Eve used to tempt Adam, it sets the stage for a more
detailed explanation in Paradise Lost. In addition, God’s response to Adam’s statement illustrates
the impact Eve’s tempting has supposedly had on females in society. After thoroughly punishing
the serpent for offering the apple, the Lord states to Eve, “you shall bring forth children, yet your
desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” In this context, rule is defined as
exercising ultimate power and authority over another. Therefore, the will of man would
henceforth be regarded as superior to that of his wife, and all women would continue to endure
this punishment in society. For this reason, the female archetype as a temptress is well
established, since it is the cause of Eve’s, and arguably all women’s, stereotype in society as
inferior and responsible for child rearing.
While Genesis merely describes the actions and punishments of man, Paradise Lost seeks
to define the motives and emotions exhibited by Adam and Eve. Though Adam and Eve’s
discussions of free will and the cleverness of the serpent are intriguing, the third section of book
9 is most significant for its portrayal of Eve and her archetype. The definition of a temptress is
directly affirmed when the book describes Adam’s motives for eating the apple, stating “He
scrupled not the eat / Against his better knowledge, not deceived, / But fondly overcome with
female charm” (997-999). The definition of a temptress is a woman characterized by sensuous
beauty whose physical attractiveness may bring about the hero’s, or Adam’s, downfall.
Therefore, since charm refers to an attractive or alluring characteristic, John Milton is defining
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Eve as the temptress archetype since her beauty is what finally forced Adam to eat the apple.
Adam also comes to terms with this fact later on as he argues with and even insults Eve at the
end of Book 9. He rethinks what he admired about Eve, recognizing that her physical beauty hid
him from the manipulative personality that lay beneath. This personality is portrayed in the
passage before Adam’s response, as she attempts to place the blame on Adam for her acceptance
of the apple since it is his duty as a husband to steer her away from harm. After Eve’s bold claim,
Adam states: “I erred in overmuch admiring / What seemed so perfect, that I thought / No evil
durst attempt thee, but I rue / That error now” (1178-1781). He essentially recognizes her as evil,
which is defined as embodying or associated with the forces of the devil. This definition is
logical considering Lucifer embodied the serpent that tempted Eve, and such a harsh accusation
illustrates Adam’s newfound hatred towards his wife. The quote also continues to support the
definition of a temptress, where Adam admits how his admiration for Eve lured him to his
downfall by eating the forbidden fruit. A sense of distrust and disgust towards Eve is further
enforced by the following line: “Him who to worth in women overtrusting / Lets her will rule”
(1183-1184). The statement of this fact illustrates how a man allowing a woman to manipulate
their decisions is unthinkable, while he is supposedly held responsible for not manipulating
Eve’s decisions to protect her from the serpent. As previously stated, this claim is developed by
Eve in the preceding passage. Therefore, Adam is characterized as Eve’s superior, or the hero
according to the definition of a temptress, that is brought to his downfall by Eve’s sensuous
beauty. Overall, through elaborate characterization and meaningful dialogue, Paradise Lost
dooms the female gender to stereotypes of inferiority all because of Eve’s actions as a temptress.
Other than Paradise Lost, the creation story has been reinterpreted by countless works of
art to further portray the female archetype. One example is Fall, a painting by Virginia
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Derryberry taking inspiration from the creation story. Eve stands closer to the foreground while
Adam clings on to Eve’s shoulder behind her, though she feels uncomfortable in his embrace.
This symbolizes how she no longer felt comfortable being sheltered by and subservient to Adam,
feelings that influenced her decision to eat the forbidden fruit. The fact that the woman is
standing in front of the man furthers her superiority after attaining knowledge, a quality not
commonly found in other paintings of men and women. For instance, American Gothic places
the woman in domestic attire behind the man standing with a pitchfork. American Gothic subtly
depicts what became of women after Eve’s bold move illustrated in Fall, where women would
more commonly stand behind their husband in every sense of the phrase. They would also be
shown wearing an apron or tending to domestic duties, stemming from the long held belief in the
danger of women possessing greater knowledge or authority than man. Such an idea of danger
finds its origins in Eve’s archetype as a temptress, where men once saw women as untrustworthy
in positions of authority as Adam did and kept them in the domestic sphere. Though women
possessing knowledge is obviously not seen as dangerous today, the illustration of women
tending to household chores over men remains prevalent in TV advertisements and infomercials
of the modern day. In commercials for products ranging from All laundry detergent to vacuum
cleaners, you will always find a woman demonstrating the product while the man is either no
where to be found or lounging on the sofa. Though it’s hard to imagine, this continues to fall
under the lines of the Lord’s initial punishment of Eve after she became a temptress: “You shall
bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
Such views, though severely outdated, can even be found in classic Disney films. The
female temptress archetype can be found in the depiction of nearly every villain, where they are
most often females tempting the hero or heroine to their downfall. One example is the Little
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Mermaid, where Ursula is seen tempting Ariel, the heroine, into her villainous plot by promising
her greatness just as Eve did to Adam. Though she is not using her beauty to tempt Ariel in this
case, she is still winning her over with the attractiveness of another man. Therefore, just as the
definition of temptress states, a woman is luring the hero to their downfall, or Ariel’s loss of her
voice, with beauty the hero so greatly desires. The presence of villainous females in other Disney
plots further carries on the archetype into modern society, indirectly classifying some women as
untrustworthy as Eve.
The female archetype of temptress and her punishment can be seen across all reaches of
mankind throughout millennia. The original creation story and its adaptations believed women
were to blame for man’s downfall, as Eve tempts Adam into eating the forbidden fruit and
exercises temporary superiority over his actions. Paradise Lost claims it was her beauty that
finally convinced Adam, thoroughly depicting a temptress at work. The contrast between Fall
and American Gothic demonstrates Eve’s punishment for such actions, as she goes from the
foreground to the background of the painting and is placed in the attire of a housewife. Finally,
the presence of the temptress archetype today is affirmed by depiction of the villain in Pixar
films. Overall, through infomercials, the media, and the classic creation story, society has
unfairly founded the stereotype of women occupying the domestic sphere.