Paradise Lost Book Ten and the Fall of Man

The fall of man caused an extreme personality shift in both Adam and Eve. With their new negetive experiences, Eve and Adam were able to grow psychologically and become more multi-faceted beings. Adam, initially portrayed as a cherubic and chivalrous creature, has a dramatic character shift during his lament of the fall. In Book Nine when Adam is offered the apple by Eve and he accepts it, he says something to the effect that his sin is of his own doing. He contradicts these words in line 893 where he states that woman is to blame for the fall of man and that the world would have been better without Eve. 'With Men as Angels without Feminine/or find some other way to generate/Mankind? this mischief had not then befallen.' Adam places all of the blame on Eve and God in this situation and takes no accountability for his own actions. In this quote and im hos whole lament, Adam seems uch mor human and real to the reader. This is because accompanying experience comes the ability to learn and grow.
Eve has a similar but in some ways oposite growth. She began in Eden a vain beauty queen yet because of the fall, she now realizes that that her pretty face and come hither looks can't solve all her problems. In line 912, Eve shows that she has become more humble and repentant because of the fall. 'Fell humble, and imbracing them besought/ His peace. . .' Adam's vehemence towards her, causes Eve to feel intense shame and she just wants Adam to be happy again. In Paradise, Eve never had a reason to feel so wretched or to care about another person's feelings. Because of the fall, Eve is allowed the opportunity to become compassionate and thus allows her to distance herself from vanity, making her a more mature and likable person.