Scholarly Blog

I had to read Nyquist's "Gendered Subjectivity in Paradise Lost" for my scholarly blog. Though I have read it several times, I am still really unsure what she is saying about feminism in Paradise Lost. When she first speaks about the differences between the Yahweh and Priestly account of creation. The Priestly account focuses on equality between the sexes by relying on the fact of God creating ALL genders in God's image. The Yahweh account relies on God making man from dust and then woman from man's rib. This difference obviously impacts views of individuals on creation accounts and on feminism. Nyquist says that these two different versions can be very problematic due to this reason.

Mary Nyquist speaks about mutuality between Adam and Eve in Paradise Lost. She uses the example of Adam being given the task of naming the animals, while also Eve being told to name the flowers. Since both tasks require naming, she sees this as relevant to feminism. However, one argument against this statement is that when Adam names the animals, he does it rationally. However, when Eve names the flowers, it seems as if it is done in "lyrical utterance," which only enforces the idea of tending to nature as a gendered activity (Nyquist, 505). The care Eve provides further enforces a domestic sphere. The author uses this quote as an example: "O flow'rs/....which I bred up with tender hand/ From the first opening bud, and gave ye names" (6. 273-278).

Nyquist also says that the reliance on each other from both Adam and Eve is seen in their chores, speech, and course of events in Eden, including the fall. Though at first they blamed each other, and Adam continued to blame Eve, they realized that it was their own fault and they took the blame for the fall. I think what she fails to focus on is the fact that Adam DID blame Eve for a very long time even after Eve admitted her part in the fall. Also, Eve seemed to take her consequences much more seriously considering she did not believe she even deserved to be the mother of all kind. I feel that Eve repents, feels guilty, and takes the blame much more than Adam ever does.

Mary Nyquist questions why Eve tells her story of creation first considering she was created second. I think what she says about her conclusion is that the fact that Eve tells her creation story almost liberates her because she had no connection or commitment to Adam. It is in her speech regarding creation that she does not speak of Adam and is self sufficient without having to rely on gaining knowledge through Adam. Creation is instead, Eve's own story to tell, as well as her own personal learning experience. Basically, I think this statement is pretty interesting. I can understand the argument Nyquist, as well as other feminists, put forward.

Overall, I'm sure I missed a lot because this source was actually sort of confusing and hard to follow, but I think I got the gist of it.