Putting it Together

After I wrote my last blog post, I kind of paged through the whole book and thought about how I thought about the three sections fit together. In particular, I focused on the beginning, the first couple of cantos in particular. The story begins, and ends really, so abruptly. Since we’ve been talking about allegories in class, I thought about whether this could be an allegory. Given the number of abstract things he covers, I thought that this was likely. Already, in previous blog posts, I’ve discussed what facets of the epic act as symbolic, particularly Virgil, representing Dante’s idealistic writer, a hero and model, and Beatrice, representing religion and theology. While I’m sure these are arguable, let’s accept them for the sake of time, and assume that the entirety of Divine Comedy can be an allegory. The poem begins with “I found myself within a forest dark, for the straightforward pathway had been lost” (11). Symbolically, this forest and path, which he goes on to expound upon 2-3 more times over the next page, symbolizes Dante’s road to sin. He is frightened by 3 animals, a panther, lion, and a she-wolf,  perhaps representing what drove him to sin, that cause him to fall down into the beginnings of Hell, physically towards sinners. But then, along comes Virgil, symbolizing all that Dante hold’s most dear, a fatherly figure who is knowledgeable enough to lead Dante through his journey into Hell to the root of sin and, more importantly, to understand sin and its consequences. Oh, and he was sent by Beatrice, who, as we’ve established is representative of religion. Dante journeys through the Inferno and Purgatory, being explained each and every type of sin on his way through, as well as all their consequences. By the end, there is no question as to whether he understands sin or not. By journeying to Hell and back, he, in a way, conquers sin. Then, once he’s completed that, he doesn’t need Virgil any more. The remnant of his past, an ancestor of sorts, disappears, and gives way to Beatrice, religion, who leads him directly to God. So, if this is the allegory, then the message is about searching oneself for understanding sin and God. The theme is that, when people start to tend towards sin, they must have religion, to guide them to understand sin and reach God. For, as Dante definitely emphasizes in the last 7 or 8 cantos of this book, love, hope, faith, and God are about as good as it can possibly get.

Of course, being an allegory means that every part of the story should have some kind of meaning on a symbolic level. I, however, could only account for the most major pieces. This is mostly for the sake of time and concision, but also due to my reading habits, which were inconsistent at best. For the early portion of this book, I read with a dictionary, and closely as Nabokov wanted. Thinking of Foster, I traced a number of motifs, both of light/dark imagery, weather, and flame throughout Inferno. However, once I got into Purgatorio and Paradiso I just didn’t have the time to read as close as I needed to or trace as much as I wanted. For time’s sake, I had to race through the back 300 pages. To justify this to myself, because I find Dante’s writing to be so beautiful, I had to promise to myself that I will go back within the next two or three years and reread Divine Comedy, just as Nabokov would want me too, and this time even closer. 

I would definitely recommend this book to someone else, though perhaps not for Quarter Independent Reading. The content and style make it worth reading, regardless of how much time people have to commit to it. How many modern thoughts on the afterlife have their roots in this book? Have you ever heard the phrase “Hell hath frozen over” before? How freaking awesome is it that Dante lets himself get guided around the afterlife by his predecessor of some 1000 years?! And the words are beautiful. Some passages, I just had to read aloud to get the flow. Even in the translation, for this was originally in Italian, the text is never boring and always alluring in both word choice and structure. If I did suggest it for QIR, I would suggest that they only read one of the three pieces, to really give themselves the time to focus in on those 200 pages rather than trying to get all 600. Also, I think I would’ve been helped with a CRJ or discussion or some kind of guidance. Discussing a book with a friend is such a great way for me to start to understand text more, yet I had no one to go to with questions or things to talk about. Other than the blog posts, where I felt like I should grapple with the “big stuff,” I had no arena to try and figure out the small details, which is a shame in a book rife with characters that flit in and out of the spotlight. I would advise anyone else to read a copy with footnotes, because otherwise understanding the allusions is nearly impossible.

I’m satisfied with my choice of Divine Comedy for this quarter. It was certainly difficult, but it was an enjoyable book to read and definitely gave me lots of food for thought for dealing with symbols and allegories. My biggest regret is the sheer number of noticings and questions that I had while reading this that I didn’t have time to share or expound upon during these four blogs posts.