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Jasmine McKinney
Professor Tony Colaianne
ENGL 2604: Intro. To Critical Reading
23 February 2009
Consequential Lust
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”
This passage taken from 1 Corithinians 13: 4-5 of the Bible holds for many the very
essence of the word love. In some churches Saint Paul’s concept of love is of high value
and is deeply rooted at the heart of the church. St. Paul uses the above passage in terms
of a charitable love, one that gives and expects nothing in return. However, could this
same scripture be contorted and seen as also in terms of a love or strong emotional tie
between two people? Could it also in the eyes of some even be seen as a justification for
lustful behavior? In Canto 5 of Inferno Dante Alighieri shows just how fine a line rests
between the concepts of love and lust.
Canto 5 of Inferno depicts Dante and Virgil entering the second circle of Hell.
This circle is designated for the lustful, those who in their lifetime committed sins of the
flesh. The two men are greeted by pelting rainfall and gusts of wind that picks the souls
of the damned up from the ground and swirl them helplessly around in the storm. Many
of the souls punished in this circle have cases that can easily be argued in their favor, but
the real answers lie in how they lived their lives and the severity of their sin. Dante
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places several familiar souls in this circle of Hell in Inferno and through a case-by-case
analysis he allows the reader the opportunity to ascertain if he was truly right in his
decisions.
CASE 1: The Story of Semiramis1
“So broken was she to the device of lust that in her laws she made licit whatever pleased,
to lift from herself the blame she had incurred.”
Semiramis was a woman unlike any other of her time. Conniving, heartless,
maybe even greedy are all words that could define her character. Her sins took shape in
exceedingly unnatural forms of lust and her personal behaviors. During her natural life
she made selfish decisions, ones that would ultimately be only for her benefit. While in
Hell she continuously pays for all the sacrifices she failed to perform. Here is her story:
Before meeting King Ninus, Semiramis was already married. She met King
Ninus of Babylon and lucky for him, her first husband coincidentally committed suicide
shortly after their first meeting. Semiramis readily married King Ninus and eventually
convinced him to make her “Regent for a Day”. As she knew he would, Ninus obliged
and that same day she commanded that he be executed and took control of the throne. It
is said that upon her capture of the throne she began having one night stands with soldiers
she deemed handsome. After these short nights of heated loving she would have them
killed so as not to endanger her power. There was a battle and when Semiramis returned
she gave her power to her son, Ninyas who then commanded that she be killed.
1
Dante, The Inferno, Edited by Robert Durling, New York: Oxford University Press,
1996, 5, 58, All subsequent and further are to this edition,
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Was Semiramis rightly placed where she belonged? The short lived sexual
relations she continually had with soldiers are a clear indication as to why Dante includes
Semiramis in this circle of Hell. For these relations were in no way moral or righteous
acts. They depict a woman not in search of a long lasting, love filled relationship, but
someone who seeks temporary comfort in various men. These men had nothing more to
offer Semiramis and she desired nothing more from them. Dante saw Semiramis’ actions
were evidence that she was incapable of controlling the ever so violent emotional storm
going on within her. Consequentially, her soul experiences a similar external storm while
in Hell.
CASE 2: The Story of Cleopatra (5, 63)
“… next is lustful Cleopatra.”
Cleopatra was a much more complex case than that of Semiramis. She had a
natural love for power and control and was a much more political betrayer. She wanted
to control both Egypt and Rome even if it meant betraying her family and going against
whatever moral code existed at that time. Here is her story:
Cleopatra, the daughter of Ptolemy XII, ruler of Egypt, lived a life that can be
considered tainted by sins of the flesh. When her father died he willed that she and her
brother, Ptolemy XIII be married and rule together. It wasn’t long before Cleopatra was
ousted because she could not be controlled. She traveled to meet Caesar, rolled in a rug,
asking him to help her against her brother. The two became lovers and Caesar did indeed
end up helping Cleopatra by an ambush through Egypt. During this ambush, Ptolemy
XIII drowned in the Nile River while trying to flee. Because women were not permitted
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to rule alone during this time period, Cleopatra ended up marrying another brother,
Ptolemy XIV. This was not at all how Cleopatra wanted to run Egypt though. She
luckily had a son, which permitted her to have her brother killed and name her four-yearold son King of Egypt.
Years passed and Caesar was murdered. It was not long after Caesar’s death
when Marc Antony asked Cleopatra to meet him. Cleopatra saw this as yet another
opportunity to have control over both Egypt and Rome. She met with him and almost
instantly the two became lovers. Antony eventually had to return to his duties as a ruler
of Rome. It was four years before Cleopatra saw him again and during this time lapse,
Antony had married another woman and had also had children with her. War broke out
yet again causing Cleopatra to flee with her children. To everyone’s dismay, Antony
followed her. The pair returned to Egypt and prepared for a Roman invasion. Antony
prepared his army, which ended up betraying him during the actual battle.
When this happened Cleopatra fled to her palace and ordered her servants to tell
Antony that she had died. Antony believed the servants and stabbed himself in the
stomach and passed out. When he awoke he begged these same servants to kill him, but
they did not oblige. One of Cleopatra’s servants went to him and told him that Cleopatra
wanted to see him. History tells us that upon seeing Antony in this condition Cleopatra
became stricken with grief and cried and pitied him. He died in her arms. After the death
of Marc Antony, Cleopatra was determined to die.
Roman soldiers finally reached Cleopatra’s palace where Cleopatra tried to stab
herself in an attempt to commit suicide. She was quickly disarmed and she and her
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children were taken as prisoners. She begged the Romans to allow her to kill herself, but
they kept her under a very watchful guard.
Legend says that Cleopatra eventually
returned to her home, bathed, and ordered for a feast to occur. A man arrived with a
basket of figs while the feast was being made ready. This very basket is said to have
contained the asp that Cleopatra allowed to bite her and ultimately be the cause of her
death.
Did Cleopatra receive a punishment befitting her sins?
Though her case is
exceptionally different from that of a woman such as Semiramis’ caliber the two suffer
the same punishment. So why did Dante place these two exceedingly different women in
the same circle of Hell? For Cleopatra her sins of the flesh occurred through her trying to
achieve the power and authority she so longed for. Bouncing from man to man as she did
and having no care as to what type of significance these changes would have on Roman
and Egyptian citizens alike. Dante places her soul eternally in Hell because she was inept
at becoming connected to the men she met. She used them for what they could get her
and love was not really in her heart at all.
Case 3: The Story of Tristan and Isolde (5, 67)
“… whom Love parted from our life.”
Taking claim as one of the most revered love stories of the Middle Ages, the tale
of these two lovers is quite unlike any other. Through much trickery and deceit, Tristan
and Isolde manage to outwit not only a King, but also many others. Here is their story:
Raised by his uncle King Mark, Tristan grew to be a prized hunter and fighter. It
is said that he took the challenge of fighting Morholt who had come to request a tribute
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from King Mark for Isolde’s father. Though Tristan did indeed win the battle against
Morholt, his wounds did not heal for Morholt’s weapons had been covered in poison.
Tristan, under an alias, travels to Ireland in hopes of seeking a cure for his injuries.
Slowly he makes a recovery under the care of the ever so charming Isolde. He returned
to his home praising the work of Isolde and boasting of how she nursed him back to
health. Much to Tristan’s dismay, upon hearing these praises of Isolde, his Uncle Mark
requests that Isolde be bought to him so that they could wed.
Anguish, Isolde’s father, was being plagued by a dragon and legends tell us that
he offered Isolde’s hand in marriage to the man who could successfully slay this dragon.
Tristan, always up to any challenge returns to Ireland to kill this dragon so he can win
Isolde’s hand in marriage for his uncle. The harmful fumes from this dragon again bring
Tristan to ill health and Isolde finds him and thus nurses him back to health as she had
done before. While she is nursing Tristan, Isolde realizes that Tristan is missing a piece
of his sword. She successfully connects this missing piece to be the part of a sword that
was retrieved from her uncle’s (Morholt) head upon his death. Angry with Tristan for
killing her uncle she orders one of her servants to concoct a potion that will poison
Tristan and that she too may drink so as not to have to marry King Mark. The servant,
unwilling to see such a thing happen, instead makes a love potion that the two drink and
forever leaves them in passionate love with one another. This love is consummated while
the two are on a ship returning to Cornwall.
When the two return to Cornwall they must devise ways to conceal their love
affair. Lying to King Mark and using others as sacrifices are just two of the many ways
they manage to deceive the King. However, their relationship is soon discovered and the
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two lovers are condemned to death. It is said that the two were buried side by side. A
vine grows from Tristan’s grave and naturally intertwines with a rose that grows from
Isolde’ grave as a symbol of their unending passionate love.
So why exactly does Dante assign these two lovers to the second circle of Hell?
For the reader it may be unclear for their case is unlike any of the aforementioned cases.
Especially being as how their love was technically not something that occurred due to
their own accord. Legend tells us that there was a potion that in fact caused these two
lovers to become involved with one another. Does Dante somehow consider them to be
responsible for the events that took place between them?
As far as this couple is
concerned it is safe to say that their punishment does not truly fit their sin.
CASE 4: The Story of Paolo and Francesca (5, 115)
“Love, which pardons no one loved from loving in return, seized me for his beauty so
strongly that, as you see, it still does not abandon me”
These two have an inherently different case. Unlike the stories of Semiramis and
Cleopatra, it could be easily believed that these two did indeed love each other, despite
the unreasonable circumstances they may have been facing. What makes their case
especially unique is the fact that they were both selfless in nature. Nothing could come
between them whether in their natural lives or while in Hell. Here is their story:
The two were one day reading the story of Lancelot and Guinevere. They did not
think anyone was around to witness their innocent act and it seemed that they were
clearly by themselves. Throughout the reading the two encountered several parts where
they could not help but to gaze into each other’s eyes. Though at the time they were both
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married with children of their own nothing seemed to be out of place with their spending
quality time with one another. While reading they came to a point where the prose
simply overpowered their flesh. They kissed and their small act of transgression was
noticed by a conspicuous onlooker.
It was almost as if while reading the two had been fighting a battle between the
story and their emotions that they were destined to lose. This simple act of adultery left
them with no other fate than that of the second circle of Hell. The true question is could
they have really loved each other? Was their kiss not an act of lust or adultery? Could it
really been an act of a sincere love that they felt between themselves? I could be wrong,
but I honestly think that this is the one case where the punishment received was not
suitable for the crime. Love can make one do crazy things, things that could lead up to
one dealing with feelings of regret and remorse. In Paolo and Francesca’s case I think it
would be safe to assume that neither of them regret what they did. Maybe their only
regret was that they got caught.
When taking stories of the characters such as these into consideration of their
localities in Hell I think it is important to think of reasons as to why Dante placed these
souls where he did. Perhaps their stories struck him because they resembled stories of
people he knew or events that happened in his own life. It is even possible that maybe
these characters represented some real life figures that he would have actually liked to see
placed in Hell. Maybe Dante just wanted to have some kind of power over another’s
destiny; playing God for a brief moment was something that he found fascinating; being
able to assign people a fate and not have to respond to anyone. As readers, we cannot
just accept the writings of any particular author, but we must also be able to debate them.
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In conclusion, each of the aforementioned cases noted in Canto 5 of Inferno can
be analyzed and critiqued for issues of rightness or wrongness. We can all decide for
ourselves the fairness as to which these characters were assigned their prospective circle
of Hell. What especially strikes me is the fact that the punishment for all is the same
despite the severity or lack thereof of the sins that were committed. Is it honestly fair to
say that Francesca and Paolo should receive the same punishment as Semiramis. They
were simply caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Although Dante assigns these
characters what he feels is their rightful place in Hell, it is up to us as the readers to
decipher whether or not he could have possible made a mistake.
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Works Cited
Brewer, E. “Tristam (Sir).” Dictionary of Phrase & Fable. 3 March 2009
<http://www.bartleby.com/81/16766.html>
Lewis, Jone. “Semiramis.” About Semiramis- Sammu- Ramat. 20 Feb. 2009
<http://womenshistory.about.com/od/ancientqueens/a/semiramis.htm>
“The Basic Tale.” Sir Tristan. 3 March 2009
<http://www.uiweb.uidaho.edu/student_orgs/arthurian_legend/knights/tristan/tale.
htm>
“Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.” Cleopatra. 20 Feb. 2009
<http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/RomanLinks/cleopatra.html>
“Cleopatra and Mark Anthony.” Cleopatra2. 20 Feb. 2009
<http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/RomanLinks/Cleopatra2.html>
“The Sea Battle of Actium, 30 B.C. and The Deaths of Marck Anthony and Cleopatra”
Cleopatra3. 20 Feb. 2009
<http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/RomanLinks/cleopatra3.html>