Although there are numerous female archetypes illustrated in “Paradise Lost”, Eve fits the profile of “the unfaithful wife” archetype throughout the entire story. An unfaithful wife is defined as “a woman married to a man she sees as a dull or distant and is attracted to more virile or interesting men”. In “Paradise Lost”, Eve is unfaithful to both Adam and God, and she sets the precedent for unfaithful women today and in history. Quotations from “Paradise Lost”, contemporary art pieces, and modern media all illustrate the unfaithful wife archetype and the faithful wife standard for women. In “Paradise Lost”, Eve’s first act of disloyalty occurs when she tells Adam “let us divide our labors, thou where choice leads thee” (Milton 214-5). Before she brings up the idea of seperating, Eve had always stayed by Adam’s side. They were considered equal, but only Adam received the privilege of communication with God. The fact that Eve wishes to venture out illustrates her boredom with Adam. She sees him as dull or distant, which fits her unfaithful wife archetype. However, Eve is not attracted to a more virile or interesting man, but rather a more interesting life. This is why she chooses to be unfaithful again by disobeying God, and eats the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve may be naiive, but she is aware of her disobedience when she eats the apple. In a monologue, she questions God’s will and states “In plain, then what forbids he but to know, forbids us to be good, forbids us to be wise? Such prohibitions bind not” (758-760). Eve knows that the fruit is forbidden, but chooses to eat it anyways. Her act portrays her lack of faithfulness to God and her husband, but she commits the crime against God simply because she was tempted by the serpent’s interesting promises and bored with her life as it was. Fall by Virginia DerryBerry and American Gothic by Grant Wood are two contemporary pieces of art that illustrate two different wife stereotypes. American Gothic is a painting of a man and a woman standing in front of a 1930s farmer house. The man has a pitchfork in his hand and is staring straight forward. He seems oblivious of the woman wearing an apron right behind him, who is looking directly at him. While the man seems to not care about the woman, she seems to have eyes only for her husband, and it appears as if she centers her life around him. Her apron is evidence that she spends time cleaning the house, cooking for her husband, and fitting the archetype of a faithful wife. Fall, on the other hand, is a painting of an older Adam with his arm around an elder Eve, and a hispanic woman sits at the bottom of the painting inspecting an apple. In the painting, Eve wears a pink childlike dress that is very form fitting. The dress symbolizes her previous innocent state, but her body has physically matured and she is unable to fit into it. In other words, Eve is no longer innocent and faithful to Adam in this painting. She even looks out into the distance as Adam holds her tightly and gazes at her. Her shoulders are high, and she appears somewhat tense, but Adam attempts to restrain her, even though she is not loyal to him, Eve clearly has more interest in something off in the distance, and she fits the unfaithful wife archetype. Wife archetypes are also present in modern media. A recent frozen pizza commercial shows an overweight husband watching football with his friends and a fit wife struggling to carry in all of the groceries. The husband then calls his wife and demands a round pizza. She faithfully complies, but the husband still ends the conversation with “Chop, chop”, a condescending comment to his wife. Although the husband appears to be lazy and rude, the wife obeys her husband. She stands by him devotedly even when he treats her badly, and this is what makes her the ideal faithful wife. Most modern women, however, are not as faithful as this woman. Rihanna, a famous pop star, has a hit song called “Unfaithful” where she discusses her promiscuous behavior. In one verse she says, “I feel it in the air/ as I'm doing my hair/ preparing for another date/ kiss upon my cheek/ as he reluctantly/ asks if I'm gonna be out late/ I say I won't be long/ just hanging with the girls/A lie I didn’t have to tell”. Here, Rihanna describes the point of view of an unfaithful wife, and talks about the lies that she must tell to cover up her infidelity. A lifestyle of lying and sneaking around is certainly far more interesting than having a steady relationship, which is what bores Rihanna. Often, unfaithful wives also feel that they lack love in their own relationships, so they search for it elsewhere, and Rihanna even states in the song: “I am happy with some other guy”. She is clearly not faithful to the man she currently is with, because she values happiness over her faithfulness and is a true unfaithful wife. "Paradise Lost", Fall, and the song "Unfaithful" all accurately portray the unfaithful wife archetype. A modern day frozen pizza commercial and American Gothic, on the other hand, illustrate the standards that are set have always been set for wives until recently. A wife may be expected to stand behind her husband like in American Gothic, but an unfaithful wife lies and lives an alternate life Rihanna in "Unfaithful". Often, their need to lie and sneak around stems from a desire for something more exciting. In "Paradise Lost", Eve wanted the knowledge that the fruit would give her, because she was bored with the life she had. An unfaithful wife has knowledge of her infidelities, but her selfishness drives her to commit sins. "Paradise Lost", contemporary art, and modern media have many symbols of unfaithful wives, and they also help to accurately analyze the complex archetype.
In “Paradise Lost”, Eve’s first act of disloyalty occurs when she tells Adam “let us divide our labors, thou where choice leads thee” (Milton 214-5). Before she brings up the idea of seperating, Eve had always stayed by Adam’s side. They were considered equal, but only Adam received the privilege of communication with God. The fact that Eve wishes to venture out illustrates her boredom with Adam. She sees him as dull or distant, which fits her unfaithful wife archetype. However, Eve is not attracted to a more virile or interesting man, but rather a more interesting life. This is why she chooses to be unfaithful again by disobeying God, and eats the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve may be naiive, but she is aware of her disobedience when she eats the apple. In a monologue, she questions God’s will and states “In plain, then what forbids he but to know, forbids us to be good, forbids us to be wise? Such prohibitions bind not” (758-760). Eve knows that the fruit is forbidden, but chooses to eat it anyways. Her act portrays her lack of faithfulness to God and her husband, but she commits the crime against God simply because she was tempted by the serpent’s interesting promises and bored with her life as it was.
Fall by Virginia DerryBerry and American Gothic by Grant Wood are two contemporary pieces of art that illustrate two different wife stereotypes. American Gothic is a painting of a man and a woman standing in front of a 1930s farmer house. The man has a pitchfork in his hand and is staring straight forward. He seems oblivious of the woman wearing an apron right behind him, who is looking directly at him. While the man seems to not care about the woman, she seems to have eyes only for her husband, and it appears as if she centers her life around him. Her apron is evidence that she spends time cleaning the house, cooking for her husband, and fitting the archetype of a faithful wife. Fall, on the other hand, is a painting of an older Adam with his arm around an elder Eve, and a hispanic woman sits at the bottom of the painting inspecting an apple. In the painting, Eve wears a pink childlike dress that is very form fitting. The dress symbolizes her previous innocent state, but her body has physically matured and she is unable to fit into it. In other words, Eve is no longer innocent and faithful to Adam in this painting. She even looks out into the distance as Adam holds her tightly and gazes at her. Her shoulders are high, and she appears somewhat tense, but Adam attempts to restrain her, even though she is not loyal to him, Eve clearly has more interest in something off in the distance, and she fits the unfaithful wife archetype.
Wife archetypes are also present in modern media. A recent frozen pizza commercial shows an overweight husband watching football with his friends and a fit wife struggling to carry in all of the groceries. The husband then calls his wife and demands a round pizza. She faithfully complies, but the husband still ends the conversation with “Chop, chop”, a condescending comment to his wife. Although the husband appears to be lazy and rude, the wife obeys her husband. She stands by him devotedly even when he treats her badly, and this is what makes her the ideal faithful wife. Most modern women, however, are not as faithful as this woman. Rihanna, a famous pop star, has a hit song called “Unfaithful” where she discusses her promiscuous behavior. In one verse she says, “I feel it in the air/ as I'm doing my hair/ preparing for another date/ kiss upon my cheek/ as he reluctantly/ asks if I'm gonna be out late/ I say I won't be long/ just hanging with the girls/A lie I didn’t have to tell”. Here, Rihanna describes the point of view of an unfaithful wife, and talks about the lies that she must tell to cover up her infidelity. A lifestyle of lying and sneaking around is certainly far more interesting than having a steady relationship, which is what bores Rihanna. Often, unfaithful wives also feel that they lack love in their own relationships, so they search for it elsewhere, and Rihanna even states in the song: “I am happy with some other guy”. She is clearly not faithful to the man she currently is with, because she values happiness over her faithfulness and is a true unfaithful wife.
"Paradise Lost", Fall, and the song "Unfaithful" all accurately portray the unfaithful wife archetype. A modern day frozen pizza commercial and American Gothic, on the other hand, illustrate the standards that are set have always been set for wives until recently. A wife may be expected to stand behind her husband like in American Gothic, but an unfaithful wife lies and lives an alternate life Rihanna in "Unfaithful". Often, their need to lie and sneak around stems from a desire for something more exciting. In "Paradise Lost", Eve wanted the knowledge that the fruit would give her, because she was bored with the life she had. An unfaithful wife has knowledge of her infidelities, but her selfishness drives her to commit sins. "Paradise Lost", contemporary art, and modern media have many symbols of unfaithful wives, and they also help to accurately analyze the complex archetype.