The Madwoman in the Garden - The Irony of the Beginnings of a Final

In both his epic poems, Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, John Milton is portrayed by feminist critics to be a misogynist. However, when the character of Eve is taken in light of Milton's major themes throughout his life, the importance of intellectual growth, the importance of liberty over license, and the refusal to assimilate traditional values and norms because they are custom, a different interpretation of Eve's character emerges. In her role as the domestic goddess who maintains the beauty of the nuptial bower while carefully pruning the flora and fauna, Eve does match the "angel" image described bySusan Gilbert and Susan Gubar in "The Madwoman in the Attic." Similarly, in her role as the temptress who seduces Adam not only with the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but also with his refusal to give up the sexual pleasure he has enjoyed with her, she is reduced to the "monster."
However, scrutiny of her character shows more than this one-dimensional impression. Milton deviates from traditional religious texts to offer a portrait of a woman who has not had the time to mature into the self-sacrificing and resourcefully brave heroine of his poem. By referencing the beliefs that Milton freely expresses in his prose, where he is unrestricted by the need to re-tell an existing story, it is possible to see that Milton had deliberately painted a positive image of the defamed and maligned feminine role.