Portrayal of Eve in Milton's Paradise Lost The seventeenth-century poet, John Milton, takes on the attitude common to the time period as he portrays Eve in Paradise Lost. This epic, which recounts the fall of Adam and Eve from Paradise and the story of creation, consistently depicts Eve as a weak individual, while Adam is often compared to God. The idea of ​​women's inferiority has been fixed over time, making Milton's characterization of Eve is not surprising, but rather expected and accepted. However, Milton shows a hint of women's inner strength as he describes the control Eve has over Adam. However, except in this case, Eve is depicted as subordinate to Adam. This is evident from Adam and Raphael's treatment of Eve, her own actions, and Milton's description of her. The first weakness Eva shows is her vanity. After his creation, he finds himself staring into a stagnant pool. He says to Adam: "There had I fixed my eyes until now, and I was pining with vain desire" (IV 465-6). From the beginning of Eve's life in Paradise, it was understood that she needed Adam to guide her. During her first conversation with him, she whimpers, “And by him I was formed flesh from thy flesh, and without him I have no end, my guide and my head!” (IV 441-3). Therefore, he believes that only with Adam's guidance will he be able to... middle of paper... Elledge, Scott, ed. Paradise Lost: an authoritative text, backgrounds and sources, criticism. New York: Norton, 1975.Fox, Robert C. “The Allegory of Sin and Death in Paradise Lost.” Modern Language Quarterly 24 (1963): 354-64.Lewis, C.S. A preface to Paradise Lost. Rpt. New York: Oxford UP, 1979. Milton, John. Paradise lost. In John Milton: Complete Poems and Major Prose. Ed. Merritt Y. Hughes. Indianapolis: 1980. O'Keeffe, Timothy J. "An Analogue to Milton's 'Sin' and More on the Tradition." Milton Quarterly 5 (1971): 74-77. Patrick, John M. "Milton, Phineas Fletcher, Spenser, and Ovid: Sin at the Gates of Hell." Notes and questions September. 1956: 384-86.