/lit/ - Literature

Dante, toward the end of the Inferno: perfect image of human derangement and moral schizophrenia. The author wants us to appreciate images of suffering (and to take some lurid pleasure in it), and yet at one point Virgil scolds Dante for tarrying to observe. We have a schedule to keep, you know. When Dante joins in the scolding of the damned, Virgil approves. When his humanity surfaces and he takes pity, Virgil reproves him. The real moral depravity of believing in the goodness of eternal suffering (for those who "deserve" it) is betrayed by Dante's own perfectly human-and, in this case, morally correct-horror and sympathetic sadness upon observing the damned (which, of course, is contrary to the will of god and thus conveniently bad by definition). Although the Inferno is non-canon "fan fiction" for christianity and a literary device for Dante to praise and scorn his contemporarires, it is best read as an illustration of what is odious and contemptible in the sincere belief in the goodness of eternal suffering, as this doctrine is found in certain strains of christianity and other false teachings, such as islam. Notwithstanding, one of the text's great merits, helped by Gustave Doré and more specifically his staff, is to depict that particular false prophet has having been laid low, albeit that this, again, is clearly not a punishment that any man can possibly deserve. The derangement continues in later sections, as others and especially Beatrice give incorrect and unsatisfying explanations for the nature of moral reality. To Dante's credit, he actually pushes back a bit on what Virgil is saying in Purgatorio, and generally Virgil bats them away with the convenient "u just don't understand yet bro you haven't seen the full picture".

Thus, in principle, The Divine Comedy may contain within itself the utility of causing the intelligent reader to reject abrahamic religion, despite or even because of the fear tactic of hell itself.