Similarly, Alighieri displays acrid loathing toward Bocca degli Abbati, a traitorous Florentine, through how Dante behaves and talks to the sinner himself. In Round Two of Circle Nine, where the Treacherous to Country are punished by being buried under ice up to their necks, Dante accidentally kicks Bocca in the head as he and his Master are walking across the frozen lake of Antenora, who yells up at Dante asking why he would want to cause him more pain. Alighieri wrote apathetically, “as I trailed my Guide among those heads, my foot struck violently against the face of one” (XXXII, 76-78). Such physical infliction like this has never happened before in Dante’s journey through Hell. Despite Dante’s occasional cynicism toward all politics—a
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Dante continuing to insult the sinner without apology after the painful infliction, and getting piqued at Bocca conveys his unconcern and carelessness toward the sinner’s suffering. Also, kicking in the face, symbolically, is a harsh punishment for acting foolishly or malevolently, and according to Alighieri, that is betraying his beloved city, Florence. Moreover, Alighieri describes Bocca’s hair and the way he talks like those of a dog as Dante yanks the sinner’s hair as he tries to find out Bocca’s identity, using: “dog’s-ruff” (XXXII, 97) and “you bark” (XXXII, 109), which is ironic because dogs are supposed to be a symbol of loyalty and faith. For this reason, the image of Dante abusing such a powerful symbol of loyalty really projects his bitter hostility toward Bocca degli Abbati. Furthermore, to call a person a dog carries connotations other than just a mere insult, but rather a suggestion of something infamous and despicable. Angry, greedy, savage, mad, cruel are the qualities that Alighieri seems to see in dogs that apply to the inhabitants of Hell, as one can see through Dante’s encounters with Filippo Argenti and Bocca degli
Dante continuing to insult the sinner without apology after the painful infliction, and getting piqued at Bocca conveys his unconcern and carelessness toward the sinner’s suffering. Also, kicking in the face, symbolically, is a harsh punishment for acting foolishly or malevolently, and according to Alighieri, that is betraying his beloved city, Florence. Moreover, Alighieri describes Bocca’s hair and the way he talks like those of a dog as Dante yanks the sinner’s hair as he tries to find out Bocca’s identity, using: “dog’s-ruff” (XXXII, 97) and “you bark” (XXXII, 109), which is ironic because dogs are supposed to be a symbol of loyalty and faith. For this reason, the image of Dante abusing such a powerful symbol of loyalty really projects his bitter hostility toward Bocca degli Abbati. Furthermore, to call a person a dog carries connotations other than just a mere insult, but rather a suggestion of something infamous and despicable. Angry, greedy, savage, mad, cruel are the qualities that Alighieri seems to see in dogs that apply to the inhabitants of Hell, as one can see through Dante’s encounters with Filippo Argenti and Bocca degli