I’ve been debating over Dante’s concept of pity vs piety. I find it difficult to feel pity for the damned souls in Hell. Obviously, these sinners are being punished for a reason, and at least to me, the sins they are being punished for are overall reasonable, but the punishments are a bit harsh. The severity of these punishments brings me to think: if I were to personally experience or witness the way the sinners are being punished, like Dante, I think I might feel differently.
What do you guys think? As Dante travels through Hell, should he have pity and sympathy for the souls he encounters or should he feel anger and justice that they are getting what they rightfully deserve?
8 comments:
Ironically, I do feel pity for those in Hell. Well, those in some circles of Hell. Like we discussed in class, some people are put into circles that they don’t truly deserve. I especially pity those in the Vestibule and Limbo. There are many times in my life in which I have remained neutral regarding certain issues. For example, when my mom and sister fight, I just stay out of it instead of defending one or the other. Similarly, if I was born in Virgil’s time, I would have ended up in Limbo too!
As Dante progresses through Hell, he is not to have pity. However, there are many times in which he does. I think this is normal for anyone who is in his position. He is seeing tons of people being punished while he is alive and just passing by. Many people are stopping him asking to be remembered. How could we not pity these people??
The people who are trees in the forest of suicides, I feel much pity for them too. They took their own lives on Earth. In my opinion, their had to be some reason for doing this. They could have been forced into doing so, depressed, etc. Whatever the case, I feel pity for all the people who are in circle seven, part two.
Maybe I shouldn't feel pity for these people. I’m not sure. However, pity is natural for humans. Maybe I ma just more forgiving than some???
I can see both sides of the argument. Also, I feel like it is different for every circle of Hell. I think some of the punishments are really harsh, especially because they have to keep doing them over and over until the end of eternity. So I do have pity on some of the sinners in Hell. But on the other hand, I have no pity at all for other sinners. Some of them in certain circles of Hell deserve their punishments and don't deserve pity from others.
Also, we only saw this I think once, but some of the sinners in Hell know they did very bad things in life so they don't want to be remembered by people when Dante goes back. But again, there are others who do want to be remembered maybe because their crimes weren't as bad as the other peoples. So, they talk to Dante and tell him their story so that Dante can go back and tell their stories to others.
Some of the punished in hell have to deal with brutal conditions. While I pity some of the punished, others I feel deserve their punishments. Also to question the punishments of those in hell is to question divine justice which is very conflicting due to the extent of some of the punishments. This is a big conundrum one must deal with when reading the Inferno.
The concept of anyone being tortured for eternity in Hell should arouse pity in anyone. The punishments are wholly unreasonable, not because of their nature but rather because of their duration. Any crime that a human being can commit is limited in scale, no one can cause infinite harm, simply because of the nature of our limited lifespan and how most of our actions can only hurt those on earth. If punishment's should be proportional to the crime, then Hell's punishments are way off the mark, as the punishments are infinitely worse than the crimes committed. Those in Hell, though they made horrible mistakes on Earth should be pitied as their sentences far outweigh their crimes.
I think Dante would obviously believe that we shouldn’t have sympathy for those who reside in Hell. They’ve lived a life that lead them there, and there’s no going back. However, I believe everyone should have the right to be rehabilitated. No matter what they’ve done or who they are, there is hop within a person. Punishing them for eternity is not accomplishing anything.
In my opinion, you can feel either pity or hatred for sinners, depending on their crimes/punishments. As for Dante, he felt pity for certain sinners, however for others, he felt angry when he saw them and reacted in such a way. For example, when Dante was in the 2nd circle of Hell, he felt pity for both Francesca and Paolo de Rimini. After Franscena said that her husband killed them both for loving each other, Dante was so overcome by sadness and grief that he fainted. By contrast, when Dante traveled to Cocytus in the 9th circle of Hell, he accidentally kicked a soul in the head. However, when Dante realized the head belongs to Bocca degli Abati, a traitor to Florence, Dante gets angry at him and pulls out some of his hair. Thus, as Dante displays, you shouldn't have to always feel either pitiful or disdainful, and your mood should depend on the crime and punishment of the sinner.
Hey, Elyse. Using ALL CAPS IN THE TITLES IS MY THING. BACK OFF.
I would definitely feel pity for these souls. Being put through these punishments for ETERNITY just seems a little off to me. Also, isn’t god all about forgiveness of your sins? I could not imagine walking through hell and not feeling at least a little pity for them, but then I think, “Have a committed a sin like these people? Is this why I feel sorry for them, because that might be me one day? What if I’m passing my future eternity?” Maybe I feel pity because I understand some of the sins these people have committed.
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