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Professor Herron LLE 332 9/27/11 The tragedy of Sin in Paradise Lost John Miltons epic poem Paradise Lost (1667) tells the tale of the fall of man from Gods good grace. When Satan first thought of rebelling against God his daughter Sin came to be. One of the lesser-known characters in Paradise Lost is Sin. To truly understand Sin one must look at all of Sins facets of her existence. After considering Sins actions, a question that should be asked should Sin get empathy as a substitute for receiving judgment and with the possibility of getting less judged, or get severely judged? I believe in the end Sin should get empathy based on the issues she went through, most notably womans plight, and the unholy trinity. Throughout the poem Sin appears to be negative character. Miltons use of the following quote serves as the basis for Sin. For it says in the Epistle of James Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death (1:15). This quote sums up Sin, from the time of her birth until the present. This quote does not help Sins case to be judged less. It makes her more evil and not worthy of receiving empathy. Further examining Sins story this quote regardless of its negative nature may offer Sin more empathy than at first sight.. For it tells her tragedy. Since it puts Sin in such a negative position, one would attempt to look at the opposite to gain clarity on Sin being. The opposite would put Sin in a positive light.

2 Considering the treatment of women during Miltons time, it warrants that Sin deserves empathy. In Stanley Fishs work How Milton Works, he conveys that Sin is female, because back then woman were idol worshipers and were various forms of temptation. Fish writes; Nor is it an accident that Sin is a woman; for in the tradition Milton inherits and by and large accepts women is the chief vehicle of idolatry, the very essence (or nonessence) of difference, some-thing created after, the first sign- the first, that is, not intimately related to the first- the primary form of temptation, of erroneous (wandering) worship, as son remainds Adam when he asks with devastating brevity: was shee thy God? (X 145). This piece brings out the harsh realities of how Milton sees the character Sin. One can see how Milton is by now setting up Sin; he is setting her up as the bad girl or someone who does not warrant anything. For Milton is, associating her with idol worship and idol worship is one of the worst sins a person can do, according to the Bible. Ironic not all women throughout history were idol worshipers that reason alone should warrant Sin receiving empathy. The best way that shows why Sin should get empathy is through looking at her psychical body. Her own body gives the viewer and reader a sense that Sin is in both worlds. The world where she is the victim has some good and the world where she is bad and does not deserve any empathy or positive views towards her. With the struggle of both worlds good versus evil that should warrant empathy being that shes trying to decide on which path to fallow. Milton description of sin is the following:

3 The one seemed woman to the waist, and fair, but ended foul in many a scaly fold, Voluminous and vast--a serpent armed with mortal sting. About her middle round A cry of Hell-hounds never-ceasing barked with wide Cerberean mouths full loud, and rung A hideous peal (2.250-256) The good part or the one that deserves empathy is body up past the waistline. For it is the upper body that shows the good and beauty. Something that would be deserving of empathy and caring, for if it only were this part she would then be deserving of empathy and caring, but its not the case. The bottom part, which is anything past the waist, is the dark and bad side. For this side consists of a serpent body and hellhounds that come out of the stomach. We see from her body that in theory the idea of both good and evil can coexist. But at the end due to this nature Sin wouldnt be able to get any kind of empathy or biasness, for since she is both good and evil she is also beyond it anything that anyone would give her whether its empathy or be negatively bias. One can see the issues that appear concerning Sin and her body representing the Grey Issue. For her the description of her body shows the ultimate ideal of the idea of being a gray character. From the bottom all the way until stomach, one can see the vivid darkness thats there. From the hellhounds to the bottom being like a snake, hence Satan was a snake when he tricked Eve to eat from the forbidden fruit, connection between dad and daughter. Moreover, there is the women sexuality, which can be used for good and evil. For good it is used to create life, for bad its being a temptress, something she is. We can see that even

4 despite the lower part is all negative there is some good, the creation of life hence grey. However everything thats north or up of the stomach is only good and beautiful. North of the waist includes the Heart. The heart is where emotions are felt. In addition, similar to the sexuality of a woman the heart and feeling are likewise. In the end its her body thats shows the most rational of why Sin is deserving of empathy Before Sin turned or was coerced into being a negative being she was a being beauty and pure and thus was looked up with admiration due to her beauty. Being that she was once beautiful and pure that she warrants Sin to get some empathy, despite her current state of being. Milton writes concerning Sin; Now in thine eye so foul, once deemed so fair In Heaven. (2.748-749). This quote is in reference to when she was pure and yet it is a reference to her current state. What Sin is saying that she was once a beautiful and pure regardless for how long of a period it was. And not only was she good but she was high on a pedestal within Heavens hierarchy and thus was treated with respect due to her own merit, as well as being Lucifer daughter, she was well thought of . So one can wonder what caused someone of this high of position or respect to fall. The person just over time may undergo a metamorphosis from the birth until the present. In addition, the good may just remain their under all the bad, all one has to do is be willing to dig and attempt to find the good, that is buried. This digging in essence is the later part of this essay. Sins ancestry is another factor why Sin should get empathy. In middle of Book II we find out who her father is. Sin father is none other than Lucifer, as he has known when she was born, who later became Satan. The reason Sins parentage is harmful, being that she is part Satan herself, and thus similar to his way of thought, for she acts like her dad and

5 does similar things. For Sin relation to Satan, it would cause the reader to question her and wonder does she deserve empathy. Being part of the unholy trinity puts sin the category of receiving empathy. The unholy Trinity is sort of mockery of the real Trinity. The Unholy Trinity is a family it consist of Sin, Satan, and her son Death. Milton writes My hold of this new Kingdom all depends, / Through Sin to Death expos'd by my exploit. / If your joynt power prevailes, th' affaires of Hell/ No detriment need feare, goe and be strong (X.406-409). This quote shows the unholy trinity at work. They all came together to be part of Satan plan to corrupt man, and lead a rebellion against God and his followers. Being that all that was around her was negative beings Satan, death, fallen angels. One can see that Sin is the victim and thus deserves empathy despite being part of the unholy trinity for thats what she only knew. The next reason one should have some empathy for Sin is for what Satan did to her .For Satan committed incest with his daughter. Milton discusses the crime that Satan committed towards Sin. Sin confronts Satan by saying Becam'st enamour'd, and such joy thou took'st with me in secret, that my womb conceiv'd. (2.765-766). While Satan was known as Lucifer, he committed incest with his daughter. This act will forever be inscribed on sin DNA and that of the DNA of her descendents. In an article titled Incest Effects On Victims the writer writes concerning the side effects of incest To manipulate the victim, most incest perpetrators foster in the child a set of behaviors that help the child maintain the denial and self-deception needed to survive an ongoing incestuous relationship. What was just said shows the relationship of Sin and Satan. Its true Sin is not perfect character but in the end, it was Satan who convinced her into joined

6 him to rebel against God. Even before Satan convinced her to open the gates of hell, she was serving good. So one can may an argument that her fall may not have been on her choice but rather she was stringed along like a puppet master and Sin being the puppet and Satan the puppet master. Its true one can say that Sin has a choice, and she could have picked to do but as it said before, Sin was manipulated when she was a child and the trend continued throughout her life. Another tragic act that Sin underwent would add more reason for Sin to receive empathy is the assault she had to endure.. After Satan committed incest with Sin , this grievous act resulted in Sin giving birth. Sin gave birth to a being she called Death. One would assume that birth would be a joyous event but it was not. Sin being the narrator describes what happened after her giving birth, she says and in embrace forcible and foul Engendring with me of that rape (2.793-794). He son Death raped her, and as a result from this outrageous act came to be demon dogs. Another factor that comes to play and thus adding more leverage to Sin deserving empathy is the beings that are in her. After Sin, was raped by her son Death. The results of this act were the birth of the demon dogs. The demon dogs haunted everyone including their own mother. Sin tells the reader about how these demon dogs affected her, for she says and hourly born with sorrow infinite. (2.797.) These monsters as she called them left her with no peace, for they divided her body. They also divided her being the good and beautiful part and the negative and dark part. The demon dog tormented her daily , for she had no rest from them. The next reason that one should show some form of empathy towards Sin is despite her being a negative and evil character she showed emotions, a positive emotion. One

7 would think that being that Sin is an offspring of Satan, she would not have emotion or show them, but you are wrong she shows true and positive emotions. The emotions she shows is care. She shows care to the two people who hurt her the most. She steps in between the two people who have made her what she is. When Satan is about to strike Death, Sin steps in and says in a heartfelt tone O father, what intends thy hand she cried against thy only son (2.727-728). She steps in to protect her son. Later on, she mentions to Satan a warning, to be careful of Death. For he had the power to make Satan fall and kill him. One can see that despite Sin being bad they can act in a good manner. One should not be biased, just because she is a negative character. In the end her showing emotion is another reason why she deserves empathy. In conclusion taking apart the character Sin has been in a hard journey. There are various ways one can view Sin. She can be good, bad, or a grey character. Despite all this characterization in the end, she deserves empathy. If one were to put her on trial, she would have to stand and be convicted for her crimes, but in the end, her ultimate verdict would be mitigated. Sin deserves to look at as a whole and not just seen as someone evil but rather a victim of the environment. True she committed evil acts but give her a break she deserves some form of empathy after what she has gone through.

Work cited Fish, Stanley Eugene. "Gently Raised." How Milton Works. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2001. 493. Print. "Incest - Effects On Victims." Http://family.jrank.org/. Web. 18 Oct. 2011. <Incest - Effects On Victims>. James. King James Version. London, 1611. Ww.earlychristianwritings.com/index.html. 2001. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. <http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/james-kjv.html>. Milton, John, William Kerrigan, John Peter Rumrich, and Stephen M. Fallon. "Paradise Lost." The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton. New York: Modern Library, 2007. 252-630. Print.