In reading Dante’s Inferno, I found the three beasts that he confronted to be particularly interesting. The first beast is the leopard, who Dante views as “all tremor and flow and gaudy pelt.” Though beautiful, this beast is deadly and is capable of seducing people to their demise, as it symbolizes lust. The second animal, the lion, is described as a huge beast, “raging with hunger”, and symbolizes pride. The lion arrogantly lifts its head high, as if to challenge others to question his authority. The final beast, the she-wolf, is described as being the most terrifying by Dante, as she is noted to bring “endless grief.” She symbolizes avarice as she constantly craves more regardless of the pain she causes.
The interpretation I prefer says that the animals represent the three categories of sin: incontinence, violence, and fraud. I’m intrigued by this interpretation as it claims the she-wolf is the most terrifying to Dante because she represents incontinence, the level of hell which we are most susceptible to go to/the level which is hardest to overcome.
Regardless of how you interpret them, the beasts provide an immediate demonstration of the symbolism and descriptive power used by Dante throughout the Divine Comedy.
2 comments:
When I read this, I found it a very interesting fact that in the footnotes it said the She-wolf represents the sin that is least significant physically but the worst to overcome mentally. It's ironic that women were always not thought of very highly and dismissed of any power, however, the female aspect in the story is obviously a significant one that holds a lot of power over the mind (the greatest downfall of most).
I haven't finished my Dante readings yet, so there's not much I can add, but that's really interesting! I can't wait to keep reading.
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