What Does Contrapasso Mean In Dante's Inferno

The “law of nature” that applies to Hell, in Dante’s Inferno, states that for every sinner’s crime there has to be an equal and fitting punishment. The mistreatment has to match with the crime of the sinner. The level of Hell that best represents contrapasso is circle 2. The sinners in circle two are those who are guilty of lust; in this circle, they are condemned to eternal torment. For instance, Dante states that “ I came into a place mute of light, which bellows as the sea does in a tempest, if by opposing winds’t is combated” (Canto 5). The sinners are being blown around in circles by never-ending winds. The sinners, who couldn't control their appetite for lust, do not have control in this circle; therefore, the punishment is a perfect match for the

crime.

Additionally, the wrongdoers also have to spend their time in Hell suffering with regret, memories, and excuses. For example, Dante speaks to one of the criminals, Francesca, in circle two, she says ‘“ There is no greater sorrow than to be mindful of the happy time in misery, and that thy Teacher knows. But, if to recognise the earliest root of love in us thou hast so great desire, I will do even as he who weeps and speaks’” (Canto 5). Francesca spends her time depressed in circle two due to her crime and penalty. This is a great match for the felony because in their real life they only thought of adultery and “love”, but now they can only think of the lust, revenge and the memories. However, the sinners that are held in circle 4 are those who are wasters and hoarders; their punishment differs from the lustful. As an example, Dante says that the wasters and hoarders had ‘Rolling weights forward by main force of chest. They clashed together, and then at that point each one turned backward, rolling retrograde, crying, “Why keepest?” and, “Why squanderest thou?’’ (Canto 7). Their mistreatment is to push heavy weights and crash into one another as they shout their

sins. This damage isn't as severe to the lustful ones because they still have their ability to control themselves in Hell. Moreover, the punishment doesn’t connect well with the crime of the wasters and the hoarders. As proof, Virgil exclaims ‘“All of them were asquint in intellect in the first life, so much that there with measure they no spending made’” (Canto 7). Since the sinners couldn't control themselves with money, they should be punished differently instead of pushing heavy weights. Forcing a heavy material does not compare with greed nor waste.