Dante's Divergence from Christianity

The entirety of the poem is based around Christian beliefs and a Christian interpretation of Hell; however, in the final Cantos of Inferno, Dante’s divergence from Christian beliefs is persistent and noticeable.  In Canto XXIV, as Dante and Virgil progress deeper into Hell, Dante loses his breath.  Virgil encourages him to continue because a person cannot gain fame if they do not push forward.  Christianity states that fame on Earth should not be the focus of someone’s life, and instead one should focus on becoming one in the Kingdom of God.  Dante’s importance in fame on Earth can also be seen as he communicates with some of the sinners he encounters on his journey.  Many of them want Dante to tell their names and stories back on Earth so they are not remembered as the sinner they are in Hell.  Dante the poet may believe there is a connection between the fame one gains on Earth and the fame one will achieve in his or her afterlife.  However, the fame that one achieves must come from good and honest work or they will end up in the Eighth and Ninth circles of Hell as those who have committed fraud or betrayal.

Dante brings up another interesting point about Christianity in Canto XXVII when he meets Guido da Montefeltro.  Da Montefeltro had repented for his sins, but had done so before he had actually committed the sins.  Christians do not go to Hell if they are forgiven for their sins, but Dante points out that they cannot truly be repenting if they go ahead and commit the sin after they had asked to be forgiven for it.  It’s like the sin they committed cancels out the repenting they had done earlier.  Dante then continues to say that in a situation like the one with Da Montefeltro and Pope Boniface, one should follow their own moral judgment instead of following a figure of the church.  He goes against Christianity here again by saying logic should overrule the guiding of a church figure if it is misguidance.

Dante the poet mainly follows a Christian description of what Hell is like.  However, he often added his own viewpoints.  When someone committed more than one sin, Dante placed them in the circle of Hell in which he deemed most fit, and where he believed their story most belonged.  For example, Myrrha, who was introduced in Canto XXX, had committed sins of lust and fraud, but Dante placed her in the Eighth Circle instead of the Second because he believed that was where her story needed to be told, and the sin for which she needed to be punished the most.

Virgin and Dante encounter Fra Alberigo and Branca d’Oria in Canto XXXIII.  These two are different than all the other souls Dante encountered because they are still living on Earth.  They committed such terrible sins that their souls were sent to Hell and their bodies on Earth are inhabited by devils.  This is much different than Christian beliefs, especially Catholic, that do not allow sinners to descend to Hell until they have physically died.