Role Of Psychology In Dante's Inferno

Dante, Christianity, and Modern Psychology Dante, while writing about Hell, is wrestling with inner struggles that are testing him psychologically. He writes from the standpoint of an exiled Guelph who cannot return to his home in Florence by the consequence of execution. In Dante’s Inferno, his characters featured in Hell are among a community of which he is familiar in mind and by association. Here I examine Dante’s reasoning behind crime and punishment, in association with the behaviors of those whom he has placed in Hell, and attempt to bridge the gap between Dante’s religious judgmental reasoning for those who he condemned juxtaposed with the behavioral study of modern psychology, showing an emphasis on Christian faith, on the topic self-destructive behavior traits and whether they can be controlled. …show more content…
Better stated, those who are in Hell are there for reasons related to them lacking something which separated them from attaining heavenly domicile. Among Dante’s condemned, the characteristics that are absent, from the first to last circles of Dante’s imagined Hell, are Jesus, control, love, honesty, and faithfulness. Modern psychology may not be totally on board with Jesus being a necessity but would attest that one’s emotional and mental health influences how one thinks, feels, and behaves. Because of this reasoning, I would argue that psychologically speaking Dante’s reasoning for his character 's behavior is in line with modern psychology, because those whom he placed in Hell were lacking something that would help influence healthy