Limbo holds the souls of people who lived before the Christian faith to be left to live in longing for what they never had the opportunity to know (Canto IV, V. 25-35). How can guilt be established when the law has not been written? Having never committed any sin, these souls should not be damned to hell. Dante should have chosen these souls that had not had the benefit of the love of God to be sent to Heaven so that they would no longer long for the knowing.
In the dark, rain pelting and winds are whirling, lie the souls of the Lustful in the Second Circle of Hell (Canto V, V. 34-44). Again, this punishment does not seem to be appropriate for the sin. Will the sinners understand the symbolism of their punishment? Shouldn’t the punishment represent a lesson? A punishment of living for the rest of eternity with an overwhelming longing for love and never receiving it would punish the Lustful and they would forever be reminded of the sin that they have committed.
The Third Circle continues with the rain. The difference here is that souls are of the Gluttons and they are forever stuck in the putrid soil of waste while they are ripped apart by Cerberus, a three headed monster, as punishment for their Gluttonous behavior in life (Canto VI, V. 7-19). Yet another example where a portion of the punishment is too brutal for the sin committed. These harsher punishments should be saved for the sinners that have committed horrific sins that require horrific punishments.
Of all of the punishments, that of which is doled out to the Spenders and Hoarders seems as if Dante could not think of anything at all, writers block perhaps. Slamming rocks against each other for all of eternity just seems to be lacking the sting of Hell as has been represented in the previous Circles.
In the last Circle of Hell, all punishments are in ice. This area of hell is reserved for the betrayers, either of Kin, Country and party, Guests, or benefactors. Ice in Hell is a different idea as many of the teachings refer to a burning Hell. Logic dictates that a burning punishment for all of eternity would be far more of a punishment than a freezing punishment as a freezing death is far more peaceful than a freezing death.
There also seems to be a repetitive theme of either walking around, being ravaged by demons, or buried in something, whether it was Earth, putrid or otherwise, or ice. Maybe it was the period in which it was written or just sheer lack of imagination, but the repetitive nature of the punishments became redundant and lack luster.
Although Dante covered a multitude of sins in The Inferno of Dante, he only covered four of the Seven Deadly Sins. Gluttony, Lust, Wrath, and Greed were represented in Dante’s Hell but Sloth, Envy, and Pride did not make the cut. Did Dante feel that these were lesser than, for instance, the fortune tellers? These could also be a representation of the time in which Dante wrote his work. Most notably, Rapists and child molesters were not present either in Dante’s Hell. This is definitely a sign of the time that Dante lived.
Dante’s Hell represents the multiple punishments for the sins of import to Dante. The order of sins and the levels of punishments for the sins are often overdone and superfluous. Some sins seem meaningless and unworthy of any punishment. The political time that Dante lived in is definitely reflected in the sins that he found to be the most heinous.
Work Cited
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Alighieri, Dante. The Inferno of Dante. Trans. Robert Pinsky. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1999. 4-373.