Gray Area

The Inferno is sensational. And I mean sensational in an unsavory, skin-crawling way. From the moment we embark on Dante’s journey through hell, our senses are assailed by unpleasant smells, sights, and sounds, brought to us by one incredibly uncanny, unflinching mind, and the Hollanders’ vivid and lyrical translation.

On a purely poetic level, the work is a beauty. But I’m still strongly unsettled by much of the imagery, by the ghastly souls, regions, and assorted torments that clawed at my perceptions and left disturbing impressions. At the present, I’m trying to shake off the almost physical discomfort of a description in the final canto, when Dante and his guide Virgil must endure close contact with Satan. We are confronted with the massive and hairy body of Lucifer, and given a description of how Virgil and Dante are escorted to their final destination:

Climbing aboard the colossal Devil, Virgil “clung to the hair” (xxxiv, 80) of the monster, and instructs Dante to do the same: “Hold on tight, for by such rungs as these. . .must we depart from so much evil.” (xxxiv 82-84).

It’s not the first time the characters of Dante and Virgil have received assistance from a demon or monster during their voyage through Hell. And it’s not the first time that one of Hell’s disgruntled creatures has bent itself to their service. (Their ride on the Devil is preceded by aid from the Centaurs in Canto 12, the monster Geryon in Canto 18, the gang of Malebranche in Canto 21, and the giant Antaeus in Canto 31.)

It’s difficult to accept the idea of Good, even for a moment, joining forces with Evil. Even if you just call it an indirect embrace of cruelty, or an expedient alignment, or alliance, with immorality, I think it’s problematic.

I don’t know. Maybe it’s just one of those gray areas, like politics, religion, and social psychology, that I have to accept.