Fame in Dante's Inferno

One aspect of the reading that I found to be very surprising was the consistent reinforcement of Dante of his own fame.  Due to the Christian morality of the time period promoting people to live earthly lives that disregard fame on earth, as it is worthless in the afterlife, it seems unusual that Dante continually holds high regards for himself throughout a story that denotes human injustice. We see Dante place importance on fame/glory during Canto XXIV, as Virgil tells him “for he who rests on down or under covers cannot come to fame” (Dante 219). Dante therefore believes in a different sense of morality than the Christian vies of his time, as he shows here a figure of faith promoting the idea of fame to him throughout his journey. 

However, this appraisal of fame throughout these Cantos partially contradicts his notions of fame within Canto XXVI, in which he states “Be joyous, Florence, you are great indeed, for over sea and land you beat your wings; through every part of Hell your name extends!” (Dante 239).  Here, he insults his former city of Florence, mocking its Earthly fame as being matched with its fame in Hell.  The view held by Dante here brought me to question, as Dante clearly educates the reader in a previous Canto that earthly fame lead to a path of righteousness.  From this, I drew my own interpretation of this contradiction.  Dante regularly pities souls that have been sentenced to Hell through sins that are accompanied by what he sees as a verifiable act.  As we discussed in class, Virgil also praises Dante at these moments, but reprimands Dante for his remorse for those who are undeserving (those who have sinned for unverifiable deeds).  Therefore, it seems to me that Dante places heavy emphasis on the reason behind actions, believing that a beneficial means that is accomplished through honest and holistic actions should be rewarded in the eyes of God.  On the other hand, those that act out of honest intention to receive benefit are the souls that are sent to Hell to be punished.

A quick study on the background of Dante would show that he constantly promoted writing the truth in his writing, denying those who held more power than he the privilege of his praising of them in his writing.  Thus, it seems logical that Dante would regard those who promote an honest living and are faithful in a good position to meet a pleasant end in the afterlife.  Additionally, it displays Dante’s hatred of fraud of any manner, further reinforcing his decision to place those who were fraudulent in life in the deepest of the circles of Hell.