Dante Finds Love in Hell

Dante’s Inferno and Purgatory follow the journey of Dante through the circles of Hell and Purgatory, led by his guide and hero, Virgil. As he migrates from earth to the core of Hell, he is greeted by sights more and more disturbing. During his journey, however, he finds enlightenment.

The book starts with him being lost and weary. In Inferno, he says, “I found myself in a dark wilderness, / for I had wandered from the straight and true.” (1.2-3) He tells the reader how he has gotten farther and farther from the way of truth and expresses how exhausted he has become. Ironically, this is how all of the souls Dante encounters ended up in Hell as well. Although Dante was in Hell for different reasons than the lost souls, he still got there in the same way.

            During his journey through Hell and later through Purgatory, guided by Virgil, Dante focuses on some important themes. One of which is love. As Dante and Virgil travelled deeper and deeper down the circles of Hell and up the mountain in Purgatory, they observed souls paying the consequences for different sins, each a form of corrupted love. While he is traveling through Purgatory, Dante expresses that love is a universal motivator.

In Purgatory, Virgil tells Dante, “The soul, which is created quick to love, / once readiness is wakened into act, / will move toward anything that pleases it. / Now when cognition, from some outward fact, / draws forth a lovely image to display within your soul… such leaning of the soul is natural love.” (18.19-24, 26) Dante learns that although their actions were wrong, the souls trapped in Hell and Purgatory were there because they loved the wrong things. The greedy loved things that belonged to someone else. The lustful loved things of this world. The hypocrites loved their outward appearances more than they loved their inward. Those that loved the wrong things ended up in Hell. Those who loved the right things ended up in Heaven. The reader learns that if love is what motivates us to action, we have to guard our hearts to prevent us from leaving “the way of truth behind.” (Inferno 1.12)

            Another thing that Dante focused on was sympathy for others. As he makes his way deeper and deeper into Hell, he comes across familiar faces, such as Virgil and Ulysses, who lived seemingly noble lives but were still doomed to suffer for all of eternity. This caused Dante much pain. In fact, in some cases, he was so sympathetic with the sinners’ plights that he suffers as well.

When he sees Brunetto Latini, his former mentor, in the seventh circle of Hell, he struggles to accept the fact that this man he looked up to was in Hell. “’If I could have my wishes heard in full,’ / I answered him,’ you would not even now / be banished from our life. It moves my heart, / But in my mind your image is set firm, / how like a father, gentle and beloved, / you taught me in the world from time to time.’” (Inferno 15.79-84)

His sympathy, however, frustrates his guide, Virgil. He has to remind him that “all souls that die beneath the wrath of God / from every nation here collect in one, / And they are prompt to cross the river, /… No good soul ever passes by these ways,” (Inferno 3.122-123, 127) Virgil points out that there’s no place in Hell for compassion because in God’s eyes, these souls are villains, and God’s opinion is infallible. As Dante continues on, he begins to learn this lesson, and while still pitying the souls, he comes to terms with the fact that everyone he comes across deserves to be in Hell.

While the Inferno starts with him being lost, Purgatory ends with him ready to enter Heaven. He learned all that was required for him to reach Paradise, although unfortunately his guide, Virgil, won’t be joining him.

In my opinion, Hell was a lot more fun than Purgatory. In Hell, there were new and shocking discoveries to make, but Purgatory just followed Dante and Virgil’s monotonous trudge up a mountain. I also believe that Virgil should have been able to redeem himself and join Dante in Heaven because he has had to experience Hell and Purgatory multiple times, which is more than most souls in Hell have had to endure. While there were things I didn’t personally enjoy about these books, the lessons that they teach are invaluable, and like Dante, you leave Hell and Purgatory enlightened.