Throughout Dante’s Inferno, the narrator keeps doing one thing in particular: he sympathizes with nearly every sinner he talks to in many of the circles of Hell. Whether it 's for someone who lost their true love, someone who was put in a tragic situation, someone “unintentionally” involved in something sinful, etc, Dante feels sorry for them. Virgil, Dante 's guide, plays a big part in showing what (the author) Dante was trying to say- sinners don 't deserve sympathy. Sympathizing with sinners is discouraged throughout The Inferno and causes negative consequences for Dante the entirety of the poem. Before Dante tries to get his message through to the reader, he first describes/lays out the different types and severities of sins. In his poem,
…show more content…
According to journalist Susan Blow, “Hell is the Creator 's final tribute of respect to the being he made in his own image; and, as both Wisdom and Love imply recognition of the essential nature of their object, they concur with Justice in demanding the punishment of the sinner”, that is, Dante views sin as the punishment fitting the crime, and that all punishments in Hell are purposeful and absolutely necessary. The common view, or at least during Dante’s time when he was writing to publish his opinion, is too often “sin [...] is something done to the sinner, not something which he through his sin does to himself.” Dante 's view, however, “... is that through repeated sinful acts the soul attains a grade of permanence in sin”, or that it is the sinner’s fault for his crimes, not ‘sin’ causing the sinner to do bad things (Blow). This is one of Dante’s purposes for writing The Inferno: the punishment in Hell suits the sinner, and therefore he does not deserve to be sympathized with. Thomas E. Peterson, in an essay, describes Dante’s epic poem as “a journey intended to demonstrate the consequences of sin and the promise of beatitude”, along with those consequences being deserved and fitting (Peterson). This idea of being unsympathetic towards sinners is (one of many reasons) why Dante wrote this …show more content…
Francesca, doomed to eternity in the second circle (the lustful), had slept with her husband’s brother and had told Dante her story. He immediately breaks down: "While thus one spirit spake, / The other wail 'd so sorely, that heartstruck / I through compassion fainting, seem 'd not far / From death, and like a corpse fell to the ground. / My sense reviving, that erewhile had droop 'd / With pity for the kindred shades, whence grief / O 'ercame me wholly", i.e. her story was so sad, he passed out, and when he came to, he was completely overcome with grief. Another sinner (of many) that Dante sympathizes with is Ciacco, a glutton in the third circle. After hearing his story, Dante exclaims, " 'Ciacco! thy dire affliction grieves me much, even to tears '", so here Dante is crying over another sinner yet again, which is what the author is trying to discourage
According to journalist Susan Blow, “Hell is the Creator 's final tribute of respect to the being he made in his own image; and, as both Wisdom and Love imply recognition of the essential nature of their object, they concur with Justice in demanding the punishment of the sinner”, that is, Dante views sin as the punishment fitting the crime, and that all punishments in Hell are purposeful and absolutely necessary. The common view, or at least during Dante’s time when he was writing to publish his opinion, is too often “sin [...] is something done to the sinner, not something which he through his sin does to himself.” Dante 's view, however, “... is that through repeated sinful acts the soul attains a grade of permanence in sin”, or that it is the sinner’s fault for his crimes, not ‘sin’ causing the sinner to do bad things (Blow). This is one of Dante’s purposes for writing The Inferno: the punishment in Hell suits the sinner, and therefore he does not deserve to be sympathized with. Thomas E. Peterson, in an essay, describes Dante’s epic poem as “a journey intended to demonstrate the consequences of sin and the promise of beatitude”, along with those consequences being deserved and fitting (Peterson). This idea of being unsympathetic towards sinners is (one of many reasons) why Dante wrote this …show more content…
Francesca, doomed to eternity in the second circle (the lustful), had slept with her husband’s brother and had told Dante her story. He immediately breaks down: "While thus one spirit spake, / The other wail 'd so sorely, that heartstruck / I through compassion fainting, seem 'd not far / From death, and like a corpse fell to the ground. / My sense reviving, that erewhile had droop 'd / With pity for the kindred shades, whence grief / O 'ercame me wholly", i.e. her story was so sad, he passed out, and when he came to, he was completely overcome with grief. Another sinner (of many) that Dante sympathizes with is Ciacco, a glutton in the third circle. After hearing his story, Dante exclaims, " 'Ciacco! thy dire affliction grieves me much, even to tears '", so here Dante is crying over another sinner yet again, which is what the author is trying to discourage