Ingrid Castillo

Professor Vargas-Ortiz

March 20, 2016

The Weight of the Sins

As humans we are destined to commit acts that mark us as
sinners. Once we die there is said to be heaven and hell, but it depends
on your sins committed on earth where you will be placed for the rest of
eternity, it can be an eternity of suffering on hell or a peaceful rest on
heaven. Robert Pinsky in his translation of Dante Alighieris The Inferno
of Dante sinners are placed on different levels of hell depending on
their sins committed. In Robert Pinskys 1994 The Inferno of Dante a
new verse translation, sinners do deserve their suffrage and suffering.
At the beginning of The Inferno of Dante the protagonist, Dante,
feels pity for all the souls that are located in hell. There are times in
which he thinks that their suffrage is bigger than their sin committed. In
canto V Dante gets a chance to speak with two lovers that were
murdered because of the love they felt for each other, Francesca and
Paolo. Dante is moved by their story and tells Virgil, Alas- that sweet
conceptions and passion so deep/ Should bring them here! (101-102).
The other at her side was weeping; my pity/ Overwhelmed me and I felt
myself go slack: (125-126) then Dante fainted. The reader can clearly
see how Dante questions Minos, the judger of hell, because he doesnt
think that the second circle of hell is an appropriate place for the lovers,
he thinks its too much suffering for them to be there their entire
eternity.
As the novel progresses, so does Dantes way of thinking and his
innocence disappears little by little, letting us know that souls do
deserve what they go through. In the ninth circle of hell Dante has a talk
with Friar Alberigo, a soul suffering in that circle, and he puts Dante a
condition, if he tells his story of why he is destined to that suffering,
Dante will clear the layers of ice formed on his face. When Alberigo
finishes telling his story Dante doesnt accomplish his promise. I did not
open them- for to be rude/ To such a one as him was courtesy. (146147). Dante now realizes that these souls are destined to a suffering
because thats what they deserve by Minos, thereby, God. Here, pity
lives when it is dead to these./ Who could be more impious than one
whod dare/ To sorrow at the judgement God decrees? (28-30). Virgil
makes sure Dante knows that pity is not accepted because God couldnt
be wrong when he created hell, therefore, he cannot be wrong when
placing these souls in one of the nine circles of hell.
In conclusion, The Inferno of Dante lets the reader know that
every sin has a suffrage and the souls suffrage is no bigger or smaller
than the one they deserve, consequently, every sinner deserves its
suffering. At first Dante feels lamentation for the souls because he is not

Ingrid Castillo

Professor Vargas-Ortiz

March 20, 2016

accustomed to seen such misery, but going towards the end, he gets
used to seen all types of abnormalities and the band that was covering
his eyes felt down making him see that souls are in one circle of hell
because thats what they deserve. They are paying in hell all the wrongs
they did on earth.