The Maternal Body and Reproductive Imagery in Milton: A Kristevan Analysis of the Birth and Womb Images in Paradise Lost

Abstract

This article analyses Milton’s reproductive imagery and the images of birth and womb in Paradise Lost by deploying Kristevan concepts such as the semiotic chora and the abject. This study draws parallels between the Miltonic dialectic of creation and destruction and the Kristevan dialectic of the semiotic and the symbolic. Hence, it argues that the nativity of Eve and the creation of the universe embody the semiotic chora, while the allegory of Sin and Death, and the description of Chaos represent the abject maternal body. On one hand, positive reproductive images are utilised in the description of the birth of Eve and the creation of the universe. This evokes the impulse to retreat into the semiotic chora, a realm of sheer fullness and opulence, where there is no clear division between self and other. The longing for this realm, this paper claims, corresponds to the fallen human beings’ desire to regress into heavenly oneness. On the other hand, negative images of birth and womb are employed in the accounts of the Chaos and the allegory of Sin and Death. This represents, this article asserts, fear and revulsion that one feels because of reverting into the giant nocturnal uterus, where identities are annihilated and boundaries are shattered as the engulfing and choking womb deforms all distinct forms, shapes, and distinctly defined identities. This dialectical oscillation between a yearning to relapse into the semiotic chora and a deep anxiety over losing one’s autonomy in the devouring womb characterise Paradise Lost.