By Joshua Evers
Many of Dante's Cantos have confused me in regards to the punishment given to the rebellious souls. However, I have discovered my new favorite punishment, as strange as that may sound. Canto 20 effectively opens with Dante observing a line of sinners walking slowly and in great sorrow. His initial description caused me to stop and reread the cantos from the beginning.
"And when my eyes observed them farther down,
they seemed miraculously screwed about
between the chin and where the torso starts..." (Lines 10-12).
I quickly stopped and realized that their heads were on backwards. Making it even more interesting, note how Dante credits this punishment as being a miracle, as if everything before this point was totally feasible by humans or creatures. Unless I'm mistaken, this appears to be one of the more bland, although interesting, punishments. Not only has this obviously surprised Dante, but he has deep sorrow for these individuals.
"Reader, so may God let you gather fruit
from this your reading, place yourself with me
and think how I could keep my own face dry..." (Lines 19-21).
Does Dante not understand that everyone in hell is there as a punishment? I could understand a quick moment in which he placed himself in their position, but I have been continuously finding Dante rather sympathetic to those in hell. In this instance, he was in so much grief that Virgil corrected him through the next 80 lines. This reminds me of the growing problem that plagues believers today just as it had Dante. People are NOT basically good. Romans 3 makes it very clear. We as humans are masters at hiding our sin and refusing to acknowledge it. The first part of James 4:8 says "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you...". When a believers draw near to God, not only do they understand more of His majesty, but when they turn and look back at themselves they see just how unrighteous they are. I am certain that Dante does not grasp just how sinful he is as well as everyone in hell. Instead, he likely sees himself as good and believes those with their heads on backwards to be on the same level of "goodness" as him.
I commented on Zelda and Will's posts.
"And when my eyes observed them farther down,
they seemed miraculously screwed about
between the chin and where the torso starts..." (Lines 10-12).
I quickly stopped and realized that their heads were on backwards. Making it even more interesting, note how Dante credits this punishment as being a miracle, as if everything before this point was totally feasible by humans or creatures. Unless I'm mistaken, this appears to be one of the more bland, although interesting, punishments. Not only has this obviously surprised Dante, but he has deep sorrow for these individuals.
"Reader, so may God let you gather fruit
from this your reading, place yourself with me
and think how I could keep my own face dry..." (Lines 19-21).
Does Dante not understand that everyone in hell is there as a punishment? I could understand a quick moment in which he placed himself in their position, but I have been continuously finding Dante rather sympathetic to those in hell. In this instance, he was in so much grief that Virgil corrected him through the next 80 lines. This reminds me of the growing problem that plagues believers today just as it had Dante. People are NOT basically good. Romans 3 makes it very clear. We as humans are masters at hiding our sin and refusing to acknowledge it. The first part of James 4:8 says "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you...". When a believers draw near to God, not only do they understand more of His majesty, but when they turn and look back at themselves they see just how unrighteous they are. I am certain that Dante does not grasp just how sinful he is as well as everyone in hell. Instead, he likely sees himself as good and believes those with their heads on backwards to be on the same level of "goodness" as him.
I commented on Zelda and Will's posts.
I really enjoyed where you pointed out that Dante doesn't grasp how sinful he is. That's actually I think one thing that helps relate him to the reader -- while we all admit we're sinners, a deep part of ourselves want to believe we're 'good' people even if scripture clearly states that we're not. We want to think we're better than we are even if we're not, making Dante's selfish thoughts here actually one of the more realistic parts of this tale.
ReplyDeleteI think the point may be that he recognizes the plight they are in and will be in forever. As he continually get's deeper into this he is introduced to more and more levels of hell in which people have no escape. Not even a hope of escape. It would shatter me and I would be sad about it too. Not because I think I am better, but because that is the state of the human soul without Christ.
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