The Everyman's Transformation

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Recommended: Virgil's influence and relationship with Dante

Despite having the grandiose honor of being the main character of The Inferno, Dante is still a normal human being. He is lead by his mentor, Virgil, who attempts to guide him through the perils of sin. The ultimate goal is for Dante to hate sin, and he steadily progresses from initially feeling pity to aggressively terrorizing the sinners. This can be seen through his journey from swooning to the Lustful to ripping the scalps of sinners. The Everyman's actions and viewpoints for sin changes as he ventures through Hell with the aid of Human Reason. Dante was thrust into the grotesque gateways of Hell to come across an initial group of sinners, the Opportunists. They were sent to hell due to their indecision for choosing neither God nor Satan to follow. Thus, the Opportunists are to forever chase a blank banner and get chased and stung by swarms of wasps. Dante shows promise as he reacts in an advisable way. He is utterly disgusted by the indecision of the Opportunists and understands how they are supposed to be down in Hell due to their sin. As Dante ventures further however, he begins doubting the punishments of God. As he finds the realm of the Lustful, Dante gets taken aback when he listens to the tale of two ill-fated lovers, Paolo and Francesca. Dante becomes sympathetic and emotional, saying, “I was swept by such a swoon as death is, and I fell, as a corpse might fall, to the dead floor of Hell” (Alighieri.V.138-140). Despite only being in the second circle of Hell, Dante feels the most pity towards the sinners here. This illustrates his naivety in learning about the evils of sin, but Virgil remains silent so Dante will learn the hatred by himself. He is simply starting from the beginning, and no human is without error. He... ... middle of paper ... ...dividual. He also shows his faith-based malice as he refuses to shed a frozen tear from Friar Alberigo's eyes. Dante proudly thinks, “[he] did not keep the promise [he] had made, for to be rude to him was courtesy” (Alighieri.XXXIII.154-155). Dante's initial swoons are relegated by profound hatred towards the sinners of Hell. He has finally understood how to hate sin. Dante has come far. From bouts of pity to disgraceful insults, he realizes the way to act in the face of sin. The sinners deserve no mercy, just more torture. This philosophy is what Dante needed through his journey of Hell to get closer to his faith. Human reason helped promote his understanding by smiling or hugging Dante whenever he favorably acknowledged a sin. Being ruthless towards humans is frowned upon, but in Hell the sinners are not human anymore. Dante justly transformed himself to hate sin.

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