Hello Everyone,
We are pleased to share another special guest post with you today.
Terry, whom you probably know as @Terry the Nurse on Twitter, is indeed a nurse, though she also has a degree in History and a graduate degree in Human Communication.
Previously, Terry shared her thoughts on Abelard and Heloise and their place in the story of Gabriel and Julia, as well as her thoughts on Madame Butterfly and her cameo in Gabriel's Inferno. The response to her pieces was enthusiastic and we're thrilled she is able to share more of her insights on the series.
Enjoy and Take Care,
Jenn
Sin and The Serpent:
Paradise Lost and The Garden of Eden
As most of you know now, SR symbolically uses the theme of
The Garden of Eden as the backdrop to his passion- filled story of The
Professor and Julia. After reading Chapter One of Gabriel’s Redemption,
several of my friends and SR’s readers asked me about the connection to Milton’s
Paradise Lost. In this post I would like to discuss some of the
symbolism and the connection to Inferno, Rapture, (and what we
know of Redemption) to The Garden of Eden and Milton’s epic poem. Several
comments following the posting of the first chapter of Redemption on SR’s
website reflected some concern about the mention of Paradise Lost in relation
to what happens to Gabriel and Julia in the third book. In reality, however,
Milton’s theme of the Serpent, Adam and Eve, and the expulsion from Paradise
has been running through the books since the Professor said, “Miss Mitchell!!”
Right from the onset, the Garden of Eden has metaphorically trickled through
the text.
While the Garden of Eden plays prominently in the
Judeo-Christian tradition, it’s worth a quick mention of the main characters
and what they symbolize.
Of course, we all know that Adam is the first man created by
God, and Eve was created from his rib to be his partner. Eden is also referred to
as Paradise, and the Selinsgrove orchard, where so many key scenes take place in
Inferno
and Rapture as well as the only place Gabriel feels true comfort,
is a metaphor for the Edenic Paradise. The nakedness of both Adam and Eve are
representative of innocence which ends once both have eaten the forbidden fruit
of the Tree of Life. It is perhaps the only place Gabriel feels true innocence
– remember that it is the only time Gabriel feels no need for seduction when he
first takes Julia there.
The Serpent is emblematic of seduction and sin and appears
frequently in both books. Indeed,
Gabriel has tattooed the serpent (or dragon) on his chest – a reminder of his
self-perception as one who is corrupting and sinful. We know that Gabriel,
especially in Inferno, perceives
himself as a “magnet for sin,” unable to overcome the seductive qualities of meaningless
and empty sensuality. It is interesting to me that the serpent is subtly mentioned
in one of our favorite love scenes in Inferno – the office kiss after the
seminar fiasco. If you catch the Edenic references scattered throughout, you
know that there will be trouble in Paradise, because SR is hinting at it even
as the relationship begins. Consider this very revealing line:
“She was silent as she felt the
energy between them shift, like a serpent circling back on itself, swallowing
itself whole, anger and passion feeding off of one another. (Inferno, p.236.)
The mention of the serpent, so evil, so seductive, in the
midst of the intense romantic connection that we all impatiently waited for is
a hint that things just may not be what they seem. In fact, Gabriel refers to himself as a
“fallen angel” – a term which many believe represents the serpent before he
became jealous of God’s relationship to Adam and Eve.
The Tree of Life (sometimes called The Tree of Knowledge in
the Judaic tradition) is frequently thought to be an apple tree. In fact, apples
themselves are also considered symbolic of knowledge, and this reference is
frequently used by SR throughout the books. I propose that the apple references are an
accentuation of both Gabriel’s and Julia’s growing and developing
self-knowledge as they progress through their turbulent interpersonal
relationship. Earlier in the story, when
Gabriel is battling his inner demons, the apple can be understood to be one of
two things – either sin (as Gabriel himself refers to it when he proposes to
Julia) or as a hint of the coming redemption brought by Gabriel’s increasing
faith and an accepting knowledge of
himself, his mistakes, and his flaws. In
the Christian interpretation, many perceive The Tree of Life as symbolic of
Jesus and the eventuality of the redemption He brings. With Gabriel’s growing
spirituality, I suggest that the silver apple charm that he gives to Julia
signifies their mutual connection to the orchard and all it represents to them
both, his love for Julia, and his respect for Julia’s intellectual ability (at
least as far as Chapter 2!) Even his gift to her – a homemade pie – is an apple
pie.
In the epic poem Paradise Lost, Milton focuses on
Adam and Eve’s disobedience and fall from grace. With multiple references to
archangels, including Raphael, Michael, and of course Gabriel, the story is far
more involved and complicated than what we read in Genesis. Written in the 17th
century, it is not necessarily an easy read in its original form. But the themes are timeless, as are the
themes in Inferno and Rapture (and undoubtedly in Redemption). Choice vs. change,
forgiveness vs. revenge, mercy, facing the consequences of our actions, and
intimidation as a form of persuasion are all revealed in the poem as well as
our own lives. A recurring theme is also Eve’s “status” – is she less than Adam
or somehow secondary? Subordinate since she was created after Adam? Should this
be taken figuratively or literally? Is she weak, or is she merely human? Are
women the first “sinners?”
Perhaps more relevant
to the love story between Julia and Gabriel is the long-held concept of the
Tree of Knowledge bearing forbidden fruit. Is there anything more magnetic, more appealing, or more erotic
than forbidden love, desiring the one person you can’t have? (Personally, I
don’t think so, and obviously Gabriel would agree.) Therefore, while we know that the Garden of
Eden is the primal backdrop to our favorite story of forbidden love, I would
suggest that the concept I would emphasize while reading is what can happen
(and does) when our hearts take over our brains, when we know we are breaking
the rules and do it anyway, and realizing, sometimes too late, that the
consequences were far more than we bargained for. Good and evil live side by
side. Now that Adam and Eve have eaten from the Tree, the free will God has
given us is where the choices lie. That
is the essential message of Paradise Lost.
I would again thank you for reading and commenting on my
musings about the hidden gems regarding the art, literature, and Scripture that
SR uses to intensify the story throughout the Gabriel series. Perhaps you have
formulated a different interpretation, and if so, that is great! Please share
them. And, as always, I want to thank SR for allowing me to interpret his
lovely writing. I hope I do you justice, kind sir.
~~Terry~~
