Adam and Eve’s companionship relies on their need and desire for each other. It fulfills the need for partnership and it prevents loneliness, while establishing a base upon which the growth of self-worth in love can occur. Adam often express his desire for Eve’s presence and companionship because she is his “Sole partner and sole part of all these joyes” (l. 411). The possible puns on “soul” indicate the depth of their relationship: they are partners in spirit as well as in duty. Their suitability for one another is symbolized in the fact the Eve is made from Adam’s rib: she is an extension of him, and he is a part of her. Eve expresses similar desire for Adam’s companionship. She describes the hierarchy of law in Paradise, from God to Adam, and from Adam to her, and declares that “to know no more / Is womans happiest knowledge and her praise” (ll. 637-638). She desires Adam’s company because his role as her link to God brings her joy. Eve even goes so far as to declare that all of the splendor of Eden is lost to her without Adam. She makes her own happiness contingent on his presence and companionship. Because she has him, she can enjoy Paradise and live happily. Adam and Eve attain joy in the happiness that their companionship affords them.

Some modicum of security, and the comfort provided by that security is necessary to provide an environment in which reflection is feasible and not detrimental to survival. The wall serves as a tool in Paradise to help create a sense of security and comfort, which will eventually allow for the growth of a felling of self-worth in Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve do not mention that the wall inhibits their freedom, or more importantly, that it in any way diminishes their happiness. In this case an absence of evidence can serve as evidence of absence because the wall makes so little impact on the lives of Adam and Eve in Book IV that they do not even bother to mention its presence. If it provided a source of discomfort or trepidation, some evidence of discontent over the general state of Paradise should be present in the text, especially in their dialogue. If Adam and Eve did feel that the wall inhibited their freedom, something presumably this important would force them to at least doubt the supposed ideal nature of paradise. They do not. Either they do not perceive it as an impediment to freedom, or they do not perceive an impediment to freedom as an impediment to happiness. In either case, happiness in their paradise is maintained in spite of, if not because of the presence of the verdurous wall, and a sensation of self-worth in Adam and Eve can now emerge. Once this sense of security is established and the foundations of self-worth are in place, the construction of the edifice of self-worth can begin.

Adam and Eve also derive a sense of importance from the dominion God has given them over their surroundings. Adam notes that they are “Among so many signes of power and rule / Conferrd upon us, and Dominion giv’n / Over all other Creatures that possess / Earth, Aire, and Sea” (ll. 429-432). With their role in Paradise clearly defined, Adam and Eve have no doubts as to their duties or their position among their surroundings. God has made their dominion and their duty clear. This clarity bring with it an understanding that without them, Paradise would lose its masters and would quickly fall to disarray. Throughout Book IV, Adam and Eve mention their comprehension of the fact that Paradise exists for them, given by God. In a discussion of mastery, this serves as the most compelling arg

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