Dante's Inferno: The Dark Path To Enlightenment

Inferno: The Dark Path to Enlightenment Compassion; a quality often admired by society. To empathize and sympathize with those who are suffering, even if they have done wrong is widely considered humane and morale. However in Dante Alighieri 's Inferno, compassion for those who have sinned is not only considered immoral, but as going directly against God’s law and judgment. During Dante’s journey through Hell, he is chastised several times for showing such empathy. As Dante descends deeper into the Inferno, he demonstrates less compassion and empathy for those who have sinned, this symbolizing Dante’s progression from mundane ignorance to spiritual enlightenment. When Dante is first introduced, it is clear that he is a symbol for humanity as a whole, and given that compassion towards the suffering
Blatant scorn for sinners is demonstrated when Dante stumbles upon Bocca Degli Abbati in Antenora, threatening him with violence and naming him a “Filthy traitor” (270). Such contempt towards those who have broken God’s laws is symbolic of Dante’s move toward spiritual enlightenment because Dante as now believes and is acting in accordance with the moral code of heaven, and he can now begin to live his life according to that code, thus remain on the path to righteousness. In contrast to Virgil’s reaction toward Dante sympathizing with the sinners, Virgil’s response to Dante’s disdain for the sinners is pride and approval, Dante noting of Virgil’s response to such actions, “I think, indeed, it [pleases] my guide: his look [is] all approval… of the truth I [speak]” (170). This reaction is significant because show that in Virgil, as Dante’s guide and teacher, is recognizing that Dante is acquiring the more rigid moral code required of him by