Examples Of Contrapasso In Dante's Inferno

In the novel The Divine Comedy, Dante discusses the idea of contrapasso, or the idea that an equal and fitting punishment must be given for each sinners’ crime. Contrapasso is one of the few rules within Dante’s Inferno, and at first glance it seems as though Dante’s system of justice is related to biblical justice. Contrapasso can be related to the common phrase, “an eye for an eye” although textual evidence shows that the punishment for sins committed are usually metaphorical rather than literal in the way that they are related to the crime. Upon further reading it is revealed that the severity of the sin is not determined by the suffering forced on society because of the sin but rather the offensiveness of the sin itself.

The first circle

of Hell, can be described by the term “Limbo” because it represents a “region on the edge of hell.” (1) This region is reserved for people that technically did not sin within their life time, but also did not lead a virtuous Christian life. Dante describes this circle of Hell to include adults that did not life their life through Christian faith and infants who were not baptized before they passed away. The Divine Comedy also describes figures from the Hebrew bible as existing within the first circle of Hell, however they were later “liberated by Jesus following his crucifixion.” (1) This represents the ideology of Contrapasso because these individuals are indeed being punished, even if they technically did not sin. The people found within the first circle of Hell were moderate sinners, their crimes included: not leading a Christian lifestyle and not being baptized before death. These crimes are in no way severe and by the idea of contrapasso, the punishment also is not severe. Thus the punishment fits the crime.
“The ways in which [contrapasso] works in the narrative are as many as the sins, if not as may as the sinners to which it is applied” is a quote noted by a Dante scholar by the name of Lino Pertile. (2) The concept of contrapasso is complicated as noted by this scholar. The ways in which the concept of contrapasso is used within the text varies depending on the extent of the crime and who is guilty of sinning.
The second circle of Hell relates to the concept of lust. Logically, the sins within the second circle of hell are more serious when compared to the sins in the first circle of hell. “Exploring the relationship between love and lust” (3) the sinners within this circle struggled between the beauty of a person and the strong yet possessive force of sexual impulse. Those found within the second circle of hell often died through actions of their lustful desire. Described as “carnal sinners who subordinate reason to desire” (Inferno 5.38-9) (3) Dante leads readers to believe that the line between loving someone and lusting after someone is crossed when actions are powered by desire rather than love. Through this, Dante also notes that the difference between love and lust is a very fine line and this can lead to complicacy. However, lust is one of the seven capital sins within The Divine Comedy, so the punishment must fit the crime by the ideology of contrapasso. Minos, or monsters and guardians of Hell, occupy each circle. “Minos’ long tail, which he wraps around his body a number of times equal to the soul’s assigned level of hell.” (Inferno 5.11-12) (3) Therefore in this circle, the Mino or monster wraps its tail around the sinner’s soul twice because they are occupying the second circle of hell. This is a punishment that fits the crime because the crime is severe in the fact that it is one of the seven capital sins; however, there are worse sins to be committed.
The third circle of hell explores the concept of gluttony.

Similar to lust, gluttony is one of the seven capital sins. Gluttony is defined as “excessive eating and drinking.” (4) While both lust and gluttony are two of the seven mortal sins, they are considered to be the least serious. To some readers, gluttony may seem less intense in terms of sins when compared to lust, however it is important to remember these circles of hell are based only in part on the sins of the individuals occupying the circle. The Divine Comedy is based on religion and the bible, so the concepts of gluttony and lust can be shown within the famous biblical passage of Adam and Eve. In this passage, Eve eats a forbidden fruit even though she has been instructed not to. This represents gluttony or excessive eating and drinking. Eve then convinces Adam to also indulge in the forbidden fruit, which represents the concept of lust. These sins are often seen as interchangeable, however within this novel gluttony seems to be a more serious sin when compared to lust. Within this circle of hell, a three-headed dog is depicted. This dog guards the underworld and is described as “loud, huge, and terrifying (with snakes rising from his neck.)” (4) This represents the idea of contrapasso because gluttony is more of a sin when compared to lust. Thus the three headed dog is introduced into the story on top of the already terrifying Minos or guardians of

Hell.
The fourth circle of Hell identifies the concept of “avarice” or greed and the lust for material things.

This particular sin is especially wrong in the eyes of Dante, “incurring his most scornful wrath.” (5) Dante blames greed for the corrupt ethical and political inequalities that occur within his society. Because of the nature of greed, this sin is burdened with many outside forces. The theme of greed is consistently condemned within The Divine Comedy and Dante accordingly shows no compassion towards those who commit this sin. For example, Dante “degrades the sinners by making them so physically squalid that they are unrecognizable to the travelers.” (Inferno 7.49-7.54) (5) Dante’s Inferno is consistent with Biblical passages, and the bible states that greed or avarice “is the root of all evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10) (5) Dante’s Plutus is an individual created specifically to guard the fourth circle of Hell. Much like other characters described within the text, Plautus is an individual described as the “great enemy” of material wealth. (Inferno. 6.115) He possesses the power of speech and the ability to understand—or at least react to—Virgil’s dismissive words, while at the same time displaying a distinctly bestial range and probably animal-like features as well.” (5) (Inf. 7.1-15) This relates to the idea of contrapasso because on top of the Minos, and the three-headed dog, the fourth circle of hell also possesses Dante’s Plutus. Thus showing the idea that as each sin

becomes increasingly offensive, the punishment does as well.
The fifth circle of Hell focuses on two related sins, wrath and sullenness. These two sins are basically different variations of one sin: anger. Wrath represents anger in a direct way, defined as “extreme anger.” (7) Whereas sullenness can be described as anger that has been repressed or inhibited. This idea that anger can take on many different forms is a train of thought that was common during the medieval times, when The Divine Comedy was created. The two groups relating to anger suffer from different punishments based on the type of anger. Those who sinned because of wrath are “ruthlessly attacking one another.” (Inferno 7.109—26) (6) Whereas those who sinned due to sullenness are “stewing below the surface of the muddy swamp.” (Inferno 7.109-26) These punishments represent the ideology of contrapasso because those who were wrathful ruthlessly attack each other within this circle of hell and those who were sullen anxiously sit below the surface of the muddy swamp.