Black and White Justice

As a modern reader of Dante's Inferno, it is difficult to step away from my modern principles of justice and objectively read this comedy with a fresh, new perspective.  Rather the punishments appear harsh and exaggerated when compared to each crime.  However, in looking back at the novel, it is clear that Dante meticulously weighed the crime against its respective punishment, relying on a sense of balance to bring about order and justice.  My greatest struggle in reading Dante's Inferno was allowing myself the opportunity to appreciate the different perspective instead of automatically judging his take on justice.

This struggle first became apparent to me in Canto XII.  At the beginning of this canto, Dante and Virgil enter the Seventh Circle of Hell where those who are violent to their neighbors, themselves, and God are being punished. The first ring is entrusted to those who are violent to their neighbors.  Virgil tells Dante to "fix your eyes below, upon the valley, for now we near the stream of blood, where those who injure others violently boil" (46-48).  At this point, I began to notice that this version of punishment is one that strictly adheres to the mentality that the punishment fits the crime.  For example, when looking back at the limbo stage, in which those who could not commit to God suffer, it is clear their punishment is far less severe that of the violent. 

The balance between crime and punishment is an issue that still exists today.  For Dante, it appeared to be black and white.  Those who committed the crime deserved the punishment and that was the end of it.  Because my views differ from the black and white concept, it was easy for me to empathize with Dante's pity but as the story continued, the pity became far less apparent.  Therefore, at this point I tried to accommodate Dante's perspective on justice to better understand this progression from Limbo to the Ninth Circle and innermost ring (fourth) in which traitors to those who gave to them suffer in ice.  I loved the logical approach to the gradual increase in severity of punishments when using the different circles.  However, as a modern reader I recognize the abstract thinking necessary to leave behind one's own moral understandings in order to grasp Dante's.