The Myth of Paradise Lost: From the Tragic Conception to Its Demystification

Abstract

Paradise, like any myth, has its time. This will become clearer in the second section
of the article, when we examine the evolution of the myth: it existed, but it ceased to
exist; it was lost. Furthermore, as men and women of our time, we cannot study
paradise in isolation from the contemporary world: paradise may also cease to exist
as a myth, being reduced to a sublime object, place and time, or, even more so, a
sensation, an emotion, a material or intellectual ambition. The article is also
structured in three parts: the concept, its evolution, its relevance today; or, if you prefer, happiness, unhappiness, the longing for fulfilment; expressed in terms of
myth criticism: the imaginary of the mythical paradise, the lost mythical paradise
and the demythologised paradise. For this reason, the myth of paradise lost requires
epistemological reflection in order to understand the ground on which we stand.
Consequently, I shall not approach it from a theological, historical, esoteric,
sociological or ideological perspective; nor shall I adopt a utopian perspective, even
though paradise today commonly functions as a great utopia in the universal
imagination.