THOUGH IT SEEMS INTUITIVE TO ASSUME AN EITHER STRICTLY FEMINIST OR ANTI-FEMINIST READING WHEN CONSIDERING EVE, THIS BINARY SYSTEM DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT HOW BOTH READINGS IN FACT REINFORCE ONE ANOTHER
Eve’s body is a particularly salient way in which her place in the gender hierarchy is solidified. This is established from the moment the characters are introduced in Book IV:
Shee as a vail down to the slender waste
Her unadorned golden tresses wore
Disheveld, but in wanton ringlets wav 'd
As the Vine curles her tendrils, which impli 'd
Subjection, but requir 'd with gentle sway,
And by her yielded, by him best receivd,
Yielded with coy submission, modest pride.
Even in rendering her body, the language here unmistakably places an emphasis on submission. That her hair is “wanton” and “disheveled” implies that it requires taming back into control. Such an observation suggests that Eve must be governed even at the level of her aesthetics. Additionally, that her hair is long …show more content…
Yes, submission is emphasized, yet it is “coy” submission. Although submssion intuitively doesn’t allow for any type of agency, the pairing of this adjective alludes to Eve’s subjective perception of her own submission. The entire phrase “coy submission” seems highly oxymoronic. It implies that Eve’s submission to Adam is not only intentional, but sly. This decidedly contradicts a reading of Eve as a victim of misogyny. Thinking of Eve’s submission as coy ironically allows us to think of her as the secret dominator. Reading the passage above as either strictly feminist or anti-feminist seems to be more symptomatic of the reader’s anxiety, as opposed to a true understanding of her character. I’m interested in seeing how discarding these binaries might lead to a more well-rounded understanding of a character who is so often placed in one or the
Eve’s body is a particularly salient way in which her place in the gender hierarchy is solidified. This is established from the moment the characters are introduced in Book IV:
Shee as a vail down to the slender waste
Her unadorned golden tresses wore
Disheveld, but in wanton ringlets wav 'd
As the Vine curles her tendrils, which impli 'd
Subjection, but requir 'd with gentle sway,
And by her yielded, by him best receivd,
Yielded with coy submission, modest pride.
Even in rendering her body, the language here unmistakably places an emphasis on submission. That her hair is “wanton” and “disheveled” implies that it requires taming back into control. Such an observation suggests that Eve must be governed even at the level of her aesthetics. Additionally, that her hair is long …show more content…
Yes, submission is emphasized, yet it is “coy” submission. Although submssion intuitively doesn’t allow for any type of agency, the pairing of this adjective alludes to Eve’s subjective perception of her own submission. The entire phrase “coy submission” seems highly oxymoronic. It implies that Eve’s submission to Adam is not only intentional, but sly. This decidedly contradicts a reading of Eve as a victim of misogyny. Thinking of Eve’s submission as coy ironically allows us to think of her as the secret dominator. Reading the passage above as either strictly feminist or anti-feminist seems to be more symptomatic of the reader’s anxiety, as opposed to a true understanding of her character. I’m interested in seeing how discarding these binaries might lead to a more well-rounded understanding of a character who is so often placed in one or the