Snakes. Why Did it Have to be Snakes? - Eliza Colbert
One of the fun parts of reading The Inferno is trying to figure out why Dante assigned the punishments he did. The punishment that stuck out to me this week was that of the thieves, These sinners are stuck in a pit with thousands of snakes with some very interesting effects. Some snakes in this pit cause spontaneous combustion. Others, through some unknown power, have the ability to change a man into a snake and vice-versa. My question is why snakes?
Snakes are known for being deceptive. It’s a common trope with origins in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3 begins by saying that “the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made” (Gen. 3:1). Deception has always been tied up with snakes, so it makes sense that Dante would use them in his punishments. However, this whole ring of Hell is for the fraudulent, the deceivers, so why did Dante punish thieves with snakes as opposed to any other group? Why did he specifically choose thieves for this obvious punishment for deceivers?
I have not done any research on the subject and definitely cannot attest to Dante’s original intent. However, I can say what came to my mind as I read this section. I think that one of the reasons Dante chose the thieves out of all the deceivers to be punished by snakes goes back to that first serpent in the Bible. Not only was that snake a deceiver, but it was also a thief. The snake in the garden robbed Eve and Adam of their peace. In forcing Eve to question God and His commandments, the serpent stole the complete peace and satisfaction that they had enjoyed up to that point. In this way, the snake is a thief as well as a deceiver. If Dante thought of that too, then I can see why he punished the thieves with snakes.
I’m sure there are many other reasons which are far more accurate than this but I don’t have the time to go into that. There was that whole part where the snake and the man switched forms. That is definitely an important point and actually reminds me of Boethius’ idea that sinful men become beasts. But that’s a topic for another time. This post merely asks the question of why the thieves were punished with snakes. I say it’s because the serpent in the garden was a thief as well as a deceiver. Does anyone else have any theories?
P.S. I commented on Moriah’s and Zelda’s posts.
As someone who despises snakes, I took great notice of that punishment too. The one where the snake morphed into a man particularly bothered me as it sounds horrifying to watch and even more scarring to be a part of. Now, I agree with what you are saying about why this particular punishment for the thieves would be chosen, I cannot really think of any reason that is more logical than that. But, what confuses me is why do the snakes behave the way they do? Is it saying the thieves are snakes themselves when they morph into snakes? But what about the exploding ones? I don't know it just confuses me.
ReplyDeleteI actually have to go against what Zelda said because snakes are freaking cool man. That being said, I believe that it was a strong comparison to the serpent in the Garden. My old youth pastor used to always reference how "the thief came to steal, kill, and destroy" and I think that is Dante's intent with that comparison. However, like you, I. haven't done much research into the subject but it would be very interesting to know!
ReplyDeleteI used to have pet snakes, which had free access to crawling in my hair, so reading that segment I didn't have the same eerie effect as some of y'all did, although I did take a moment to reread it as I found myself unable to understand the concept and context at first. I do believe that you are going somewhere with the snakes being related to the Garden, as I came to a similar guess myself... Mine was more that snakes are not only deceivers, but they also are used to refer to fakes. I guess I can't help but think of the meme, "I used to be jealous in Harry Potter where they could talk to snakes but then I realized I've been doing it my whole life." (I have never seen nor actually read Harry Potter so I don't know the accuracy of that.) Thieves are sometimes people you know or trust, and thus the punishment of snakes made sense to me. Not to mention, in the Garden, Adam and Eve KNEW creation and trusted it to be "very good," so the deception of Satan was a "snake" to them, literally.
ReplyDeleteI think you're on the right track with the Order of Being, where sinful men are turned into beasts. I also think it is fair to make the comparison of the snake in the garden. However, the most interesting part of this ring is when the snakes choke the guy out and bite his hands after he curses God and flips Him off. Even though they are Hell snakes, they won't stand for any disrespect for God. Now this is a topic worth theorizing!
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