One of my main choices in recreating this scene from “Paradise Lost” was to replace the idyllic and natural environment of Eden with an indoor space that is more plain, less serene. I leave the camera (for the most part) unmoving, with a shot of the empty room, to highlight how the movements of nature described by Eve contribute to creating a sort of dreamlike tableau in which she then appears…I find that as the Genesis is based so significantly on metaphor that it becomes very ambiguous, and that within the context of Eden, what the characters say may consequently appear hard to grasp. My recreation of the scene, outside of the magical environment, brings out its more pragmatic aspect as a warning against vanity.
My choice of the mirror instead of water is an extension of my attempt to “defamiliarize” this episode. Eve’s retelling begins by a description of her environs, which she describes as “Pure” and “as the expanse of heav’n” (Book 4, 456). By staring into the water and seeing herself, she is witnessing another one of nature’s wonders. Yet in my version, there is a mirror, which was created for the very purpose of humans contemplating themselves. As Eve in the epic “bends down to look,” I get closer to the mirror, and similarly move away when Eve “starts back” (Book 4, 462). The choice of the mirror may render Eve more two-dimensional than she actually is, in that I keep the idea that Eve falls in love with herself, but leave out the fact that she is still discovering nature and adapting to it. One way or another, I find this passage to hold a very down-to-earth message on the threat of pride, and a reminder that even within the garden, Adam and Eve are still exposed to sin.