his paper investigates John Milton’s depictions of Eve's medical practice in Paradise Lost. In a time when women’s involvement in medical practice was contentious, Milton’s conceptions of women exemplify concerns regarding women and any agency over male bodies. Women seem to exist in a liminal state in which they either are lauded for their part in creating the Son incarnate (and their ability to give birth) or are demonized for their potential to lead men astray. Joan Bennett observes, “Milton himself portrays male characters who puzzle over ‘woman,’ seeming thus to invite such questioning from readers.”
Even though scholars have also “puzzled over woman” and Milton’s intentions concerning their depictions, my paper addresses a gap in scholarship and examines Eve’s knowledge of husbandry, her connection with Wisdom, and her use of this knowledge and Wisdom for medicinal purposes. Because humoral theory makes mind, body, and spirit inextricable from one another, Eve’s care for Adam’s body also feeds Adam’s spirit. Likewise, despite Eve’s contribution to Adam’s fall, she is also the key to his salvation. In his depiction of Adam and Eve’s relationship, Milton models the symbiosis possible when both male and female work together or work against each other in the physical care of their bodies, their mental health, and their spiritual healing process. Milton demonstrates that even though women continued to be contentious bodies in early modern culture, they have the potential to possess even greater knowledge of God and God’s teachings than men do. In short, by imbuing women with such distinct abilities, Milton’s women provide an important contribution to early modern England’s transforming perception of women and their role in society as entities integral to life and healing humanity spiritually, making it “blessed from its beginning and redeemable in the end.”
