In the majority of cases knowledge Of the consequences were clear but were decidedly ignored with lingered views enabling individuals to not fully weigh up the sides to their decisions. Both Eve and Enable are persuaded to sin through the beauty of words. Eve is attracted to eating the fruit from the tree despite God forbidding it, Enable is tempted into a relationship with Giovanni despite incest being abhorred by religion and society.
Enable is presented as easily swayed and appears to give little thought to the consequences of her actions, Giovanni leads her stating “l think you love me sister and uses vain flattery to convince her of his love calling her eyes “Promethean fire” perhaps echoing Shakespeare indicating the falseness of the love as he borrows his compliments from others.
Enable puts up little resistance to the pairing and the use of repetition between the characters, Giovanni stating that we “shall either love, or must die” and later Enable repeating the notion back – “love me, or kill me brother”. This creates an idea of a weak-willed character and could be a reflection of the patriarchal society of the time, women were seen a passive and unintelligent, which could be seen to excuse Enable from fully thinking through the consequences of her actions and for being led stray so easily.
However later on Giovanni repeats the phrase ‘love me, or kill me” back to his sister, showing how easily they allowed themselves to be caught up in their love and not think on the consequences. In Paradise Lost Satan, disguised as a serpent, coaxes Eve into eating the forbidden fruit Similar to ‘Its Pity, Satan flatters Eve’s appearance calling her a “celestial beauty’ and that nothing was “equivalent or second” to her beauty. However Satan does not just focus on Eve’s appearance but her intelligence.
He describes how the fruit will allow her currently “dim” eyes to be “opened and learned” and it is this form of flattery which appears to sway Eve to eating the fruit. In both texts it is the beauty of words which persuade the women to sin, in ‘Its Pity this is reflected in the use of iambic pentameter which creates a much more pleasing, song-like sound to the line but also links to the meter used for Shakespearean sonnets, showing the love Giovanni has for Enable.
Physical lust It is a physical relationship which to an unmarried woman can strip her of her status and dignity. However it is considered normal and expected of men to e promiscuous and it is the women which have to deal with the consequences of a physical relationship, pregnancy and obvious loss o >After eating the fruit Adam and Eve feel lustful but also the need to cover themselves showing the shame of their actions Physical lust plays a large part in persuading characters to sin.
In Its Pity it is clear, Enable and Giovanni quickly consummate their relationship, Happily has sex with Shorans on his word of marriage and Putnam divulges secrets about Giovanni and Enabler’s relationship to Basques on the basis of flattery and physical gratification . Eve in Paradise Lost is not persuaded by a sexual lust but for a thirst for knowledge and power that she believes is hidden in the forbidden fruit. Sexual lust does follow but it is not a key factor influencing her to eat the fruit.
In the times the texts Were written double standards in society allowed men to be promiscuous whilst women had to remain pure until marriage or be stripped of their status and dignity. And it is the women who are left with the consequences of a physical relationship; pregnancy and an obvious loss of virginity. In ‘Its Pity Giovanni seems naive of his asking why women consider “this pretty toy called maidenhead, / So strange a loss” indicating that perhaps Giovanni did not appreciate all the consequences of his actions, only thinking about the impact the relationship would have on himself.
The use of “toy” shows just how little respect Giovanni has for the severity of his actions. Putnam does understand the significance of pregnancy and the relationship to Enable with the discovery of her pregnancy telling Giovanni “Dead! ‘its worse”. However this did not stop Putnam from encouraging the relationship early on telling Enable that your brother’s a man” and that she should be able to ‘take anybody’. This argument that lust causes rashness can be seen too in Paradise Lost.
Eve is described to have acted with “her rash hand in evil hour” as she ate the fruit. This led to “carnal desire inflaming” in both Adam and Eve, with Milton trying to express the sin that is found in lust. Paradise Lost also shows the strength of lust as despite Eve’s gaze “fixed on the fruit” she still stopped to contemplate the arguments against eating the fruit “pausing a while” after stating that “we may not taste or touch: / God so commanded”. Its Pity opens n media rest with Giovanni and the Friar arguing about the incestuous relationship, this provides a basis for audience to understand Giovanni reasoning throughout the rest of the play, here the Friar see’s lust and death as one and the same, asking is Giovanni has “left the schools / Of knowledge to converse with lust and death” and that the “leprosy of lust rots his soul”. The consequences of desire are clearly expressed in both texts.
Both Giovanni and Enable end up dead for their incestuous relationship; Putnam is also killed purely for her knowledge of the relationship. None of these harassers are granted a peaceful death but deaths full of pain and horror. Adam and Eve are punished by their eventual removal from the garden but also by the change in relationship with each other. After eating the fruit they became “despoiled / Of all [their] good, shamed, naked, miserable”.
They also both blame each other Adam calling Eve “ungrateful Eve” and asking if this is what “the love … To thee… Expressed”. It is clear that they will never again appreciate the beauty of the Garden or God as “Earth felt the wound”. Eve worships a false God after eating the apple calling to the tree that “l too late announce / Deity for thee”. In comparison the violence of the deaths in ‘Its Pity can be seen as a punishment for acting against religion and God.