While discussing the Inferno in class, a question was raised that caught my attention. How come every time Dante is talking to someone suffering, the suffering seems to stop for as long as Dante is talking to them? Punishments in hell are supposed to be continuous, however this is not the case when Dante is interacting with someone. When said interaction is happening, nothing is said or done to suggest the punishment is continuing during the interaction. This leaves room for a reader to assume the punishment has stopped for a predetermined amount of time. It is possible Dante does this to emphasize a difference between a living person and a dead person. Even though Dante is not divine, in the grand scheme of things he is on a higher “pedestal” than the dead and suffering. This can be compared to the angel coming down from heaven earlier in the book. Even though Dante doesn’t make the ground quake, just like the angel, all the attention is placed on him. This can lead one to believe Dante isn’t considering himself as a lowly pilgrim in every situation, only when it is necessary to change convey a point to the reader. He wants to leave the reader with a sense of seniority and a degree of opportunity to repent their sins, since it is evident if you are alive in hell you still have some favor with God.
Before you go I leave you with this question: Will these “pausing of suffering” cease once God returns and all punishments are perfected ?
This is very interesting Fitzgerald. Great question to pose for the class because it really questions whether the Inferno is perfect. I don’t believe Dante’s work is perfect because only Judgement Day can be the true work of God. Dante’s little pause with the dead could symbolize the “power” structure from hell beings to earth beings to angels. Yet, maybe the souls in hell might be talking to Dante, but they could also be suffering internally that we do not know of. I think even during Judgement Day, when angels visit hell, they will be able to talk to the dead souls there.