As Dante and Virgil scavenge their way through Inferno, they come across several entities who seem to have no relation to one another. While that is a logical assumption, given that they are being punished for acting upon different sins, their commonality lies in the fact that they show excessive devotion to something that isn’t their love of God.
When Dante enters the circle of lust, he speaks to two lovers (Francesca and Paolo) who committed adultery. As Francesca recounts the story, she reiterates the idea that love is a force that compels us to do things that we wouldn’t do otherwise. She says, “Many times that reading drove our eyes together and turned our faces pale; but one point alone was the one that overpowered us” (canto 5, lines 130-132). It’s important to note the distinction between Dante the Pilgrim and Dante the Poet in this section, as they do reciprocate different feelings towards Francesca’s story. Dante the Pilgrim feels a lot of pity for Francesca, even saying, “‘Francesca, your sufferings make me sad and piteous to tears’” (canto 5, lines 116-117). Dante the Poet, on the other hand, is seemingly less sympathetic and places her in this circle because he feels as though love does not deprive us of our free will, and that she did act upon feelings of excessive affection. Thus, condemning her to an infernal storm, where “the wind controls the lustful in the same way that their passions controlled them while in this life” (Digital Dante, What’s Love Got to Do with It? Love and Free Will).
Source: Tate Britain
When Dante descends into the eighth pit of the eighth circle, he finds Ulysses alongside other fraudulent counselors. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Ulysses’ inclusion in Inferno is that Dante never read The Iliad or The Odyssey, which famously tells the story of Ulysses winning the Trojan War by means of deceit, as well as the long voyage that took place after the war (Digital Dante, The Epic Hero). Instead, Dante creates his own conception of Ulysses’ final moments, where he and his crew mates set out to cross boundaries that were imposed by God (Danteworlds, Ulysses: Circle 8, Canto 26). In a lengthy speech where Ulysses tries to convince his men that this quest for knowledge is justified, he says, “You were not made to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge” (canto 26, lines 118-119). When they pass the Pillars of Hercules (said to have been the end of the western world), Ulysses and his crew mates come in contact with a whirlwind that sinks their ship. Ulysses’ excessive desire to be all-knowing cost the lives of many (including his own), and directly goes against God’s commands. It goes without saying that Dante categorizes this as Ulysses’ biggest offense, and the reason for his damnation.
- “Digital Dante.” Inferno 26 – Digital Dante, https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/dante/divine-comedy/inferno/inferno-26/.
- “Digital Dante.” Inferno 5 – Digital Dante, https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/dante/divine-comedy/inferno/inferno-5/.
