Dante Alighieri's "Inferno" Book Review by rofcay

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.