e above Adam; but the only being that truly convinces her to eat the fruit is herself, and the free will which she believes she can use in any circumstance. Upon being led to the forbidden tree, Eve recognizes easily (p.251-252 lines 651-654):‘…But of this tree we may not taste nor touch;God so commanded, and left that commandSole daughter of his voice: the rest, we liveLaw to our selves; our reason is our law.’Despite her knowledge that eating the fruit is wrong under the eyes of God, she sees her reason as her law, and her only law. Eve wants to become a God, and hold the power over Adam, the angels, and the other creatures of Paradise. Why does God refuse to give knowledge to a man through a fruit that a beast has already tasted and evolved from? It is this reasoning inserted into her mind by Satan that finally convinces Eve to engulf the forbidden fruit. Once again, as many times earlier in the epic, Satan’s cunning prevails over the weak mind of Eve.Book IX of Paradise Lost can easily be considered the most suspenseful Book that appears this far into the epic. It portrays two innocent beings; the first of humankind, and how simple methods used by Satan convinces Eve to commit sin, and therefore Adam to do the same. However, it is Eve’s mind that can simply be blamed for this, for she allowed Satan to conquer her beliefs in Adam and God by using her own emotions against herself without sufficient reason to question the occurrence. Satan’s dedication to his vengeful cause and his cunning ability to do so are two of the most prominent powers of his, and using them wisely as he did with Eve, he can convince any being to commit any act appropriately....
