Allegory and Actual Demon Attacks - AnnaKate
There is so much I could talk about from this week's reading, but what I've chosen to focus on comes from Canto XXIII, when Virgil and Dante are being pursued by demons.
"My Leader suddenly seized me up,
Even as a mother who by noise is wakened,
And close beside her sees enkindled flames,
Who takes her son, and flies, and does not stop,
Having more care of him than of herself." (ln 37-41)
I found this to be absolutely fascinating. When faced with imminent danger, Virgil's first response is to protect Dante as his own son. Now, since this is Medieval literature, there just has to be several layers of meaning in this passage. The literal meaning would have to be that Virgil was protecting Dante as if he was his own son, which is interesting enough in and of itself. Why does Virgil feel so strongly about Dante? Is it simply because it is his job to guide Dante through the different layers of Hell? Or have they actually developed a strong father-son bond in their time together? I'm not gonna lie, if the latter is true, I have no choice but to be quite moved by it.
If there is a deeper allegorical meaning to this detail, I am incredibly curious as to what it would be. Personally, I can't help but feel that this passage, in an allegorical sense, points us directly back to Christ. Jesus is the mother who by noise is wakened. With no regard for Himself, he carried our burden on His own back so that we could live. He takes our sin, and flies, and does not stop. How thankful, then, should we be for His unswerving kindness and provision!
moriah & hannah
moriah & hannah
This is a very interesting comparison. I have wondered too what the nature of Virgil and Dante's relationship is. I don't believe that Dante is an extremely emotional man so he doesn't very clearly state his relationship with Virgil on a father/son level, but I do think that love is there. The comparison to Christ and the mother really reigns in the whole point of this! Great job!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to take this question a step farther and ask what the significance of Virgil as Dante's guide is in the first place. If Dante wanted a "mother" figure to represent Christ, why is it a pagan poet and not a Catholic Saint? My first inclination to that would be to comment on how inappropriate it would be to yank a Christian out of Paradise and make him slough through Hell, but I'm sure there are historical Church figures whom Dante would argue belong in limbo and are fit to serve as a guide through torment. We probably all remember that Virgil wrote about a similarly-structured Hades in The Aeneid last semester, but that's really the only connection I'm seeing here.
ReplyDeleteWill, I think your addition could be attributed to the fact that Dante idolized Virgil as a poet. Beatrice knew that Dante would listen to his role model.
ReplyDeleteAnnakate, I thoroughly enjoyed the way you saw this. Since we are not going through, Purgatorio or Paradiso, we will not see the full measure of the story; but Mother Mary actually plays a pretty large role in this. Mary, Beatrice, and one other heavenly lady pray for Dante as he goes through this journey. Virgil's actions are perhaps an extension of their prayers. Dante cannot and will not make the journey without divine help. Although damned as he is, Virgil is part of the divine in this regard.