This dissertation explores the connection between marriage and the problem of evil primarily in John Milton's major poetic works, but also in the work of his contemporary, Margaret Cavendish. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, marriage has generally been linked with the problem of evil through the story of the Fall of Adam and Eve. While there have been many retellings of the Fall story, most often they have blamed woman and her sexuality for the advent of evil into the world. In the seventeenth century, John Donne continued this tradition, primarily in his marriage sermons. Later in the century, Milton and Cavendish both retold the Fall story in new ways: While very different from each other in terms of politics and social status, both writers were responding to the desire for a new marital relation in the face of political upheaval; and neither was willing simply to blame woman for evil.

Looking at Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes together, I argue that Milton's texts, in attempting to avoid blaming God for evil, end up identifying contemporary, patriarchal marriage as the real culprit and gesture toward the conclusion that the marital relation needs to be reconceptualized. In addition, I show that Milton's work suggests the need for a new definition of evil, freed from associations with woman and sexuality as well as from attempts to justify God.

The more secular Margaret Cavendish provides a striking contrast to Milton. Starting from the premise that God is unknowable, Cavendish explores more unorthodox conceptions of marriage freed from traditional Christian definitions of evil. But she ends up identifying evil with the body, and, thus, her intellectualized view of the marital union, while appealing in some ways, lacks the erotic power of Milton's. While Cavendish's attempt to separate marriage from the problem of evil seems to be an ideological advance, I conclude that such a move engenders significant losses unless one is willing to rethink eroticism outside the powerful framework provided by the Judeo-Christian story of the Fall.