Dante Alighieri's "Inferno"

Paper Summary:

This paper suggests that, while the notion of Heaven and Hell perhaps has its origins in Dante's "Inferno", there is, in actuality, a far more intimate duality to be examined: the paternal relationship between a father and son. The paper relates that Dante establishes Virgil the guide as a father figure to the pilgrim Dante. Yet, as in all father-son relationships, there is a metamorphosis. Virgil progresses from a strict father to becoming tempered by love and maternal instincts, while his son Dante, progresses from a helpless child to a rebellious teenager. The paper discusses this metamorphosis and concludes that the tender and affectionate relationship the two characters share is a counter-point to the nightmarish discourse of heaven and hell.

From the Paper:

"However, as in most parenting relationships, children grow to the rebellious stage of adolescence. Dante begins to experience great fear and doubt concerning Virgil's power. In the beginning of Canto IX, Virgil is unable to open the gate of Dis. The all-knowing Virgil has failed. Dante thinks to himself, "the colored cowardness displayed in me when I saw that my guide was driven back..."(9.1-2), "Nevertheless, his speech made me afraid, because I drew out from his broken phrase a meaning worth- perhaps-then he'd intended" (9.13-15)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Alighieri, Dante. Inferno. Trans. Allen Mandelbaum. New York: Bantam Books. 1980.

More papers on Dante Alighieri's "Inferno":

• Analytical Essay # 68343 : "Dante's "Inferno" - The Barrators"
• Poem Review # 101720 : "The Divine Comedy" - Dante Alighieri's "Inferno"
• Book Review # 108599 : "Divine Justice in Dante Alighieri's "Inferno"

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