Dantes changing attitude toward the sinners Essay Example

a typical student/master scenario, that together they “share one will. ” When Dante reads the inscription upon the gates of hell, Virgil extends “a reassuring glance and led [him] by the hand through the gate toward the mysteries beyond.”

Virgil wants Dante to see Hell as it really is – a place for Divine Justice (Esch 3). The only way for Dante to do that is to overcome his pity and becoming like his guide. An irony, however, is presented in Canto IV. Dante assumes Virgil is “scared stiff,” as “his color was ash, deathly pale. ” Dante believes that Virigl was afraid, and Virgil is hurt by this insinuation. However, what Virgil was really feeling was that he was feeling pity for himself, as he was sent to spend eternity in limbo. Virgil all this time was keen on asking Dante to leave behind his pity, yet he himself is feeling it.

This foreshadows the later breakdown of the student/master relationship. As they continue their descent, Dante experiences various states of pity. However, in Canto VIII, Virgil interacts with a sinner, Argenti, for the first time. Dante here does not feel anymore pity. Instead, he seems to be enjoying his meeting, observing Argenti as he is in the throes of suffering. But his victory over his emotions here is short-lived. In Canto XX, Dante still breaks down, getting him a rebuke from Virgil, who asks him whether he was “still a fool…will [he] feel pity instead of piety?”

The student/master relationship finally breaks down, and as the Canto progressed, shows how Dante assumes a “cavalier way” in dismissing Virgil’s lesson on

the Mantua (Grimm 87). Dante, proud as he is, was terribly hurt by being called a fool by Virgil, yet his position – filled with pity – stopped him from answering Virgil. Finally, in Canto XXXII, Dante accidentally (? ) kicks the head of the Bocca. Dante exhibits a side of him he has never shown before – cruel to the point of being inhuman. One way to explain Dante’s action is to closely examine the extent of his stay in Hell.

Perhaps, he has already become too insensitive to the plight of the sinners, having seen so many of them in such a short amount of time. Through his journey through Hell, Dante’s spiritual enlightenment is guided by Virgil, as well as his own personal courage. Though he was reluctant to even take the first step, Virgil’s reassurance helped him in those early, uneasy times. Because of the help he received, Dante was able to complete his journey to emerge a transformed man, a man who is willing to assume responsibility for his actions.