Kaitlin Kellam
Dr. Colaianne
Introduction to Critical Reading
4 March 2010
Hell’s Love Story
Love. This four letter word is one of the most endearing, momentous, eloquent, and provocative
words in the English language. Filmmakers depend on it, the market exploits it, and literature overflows
with it. Obviously, there is not a day that the human race isn’t exposed to “love.” But, what about the
kind of love that is catastrophic, or can become the greatest source of pain? In Dante’s Inferno, nine
people were the unfortunate ones “whom love has parted from our life.”1 However, Dante chooses
Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta out of “more than a thousand” (V, 67) couples that have paid
the ultimate price for love. Why did Dante focus on them? When does love turn into harmful lust?
Even though Dante paid especial attention to Francesca and Paolo, he did mention many other
people who are known for their scandalous encounters with love. He first mentions Semiramis who
“succeeded Ninus and his wife” (V, 59). She was “empress over many languages” (V, 53) due to the fact
that she ruled all of Babylon after her husband, Ninus, died. During her reign, she “made licit whatever
she pleased” (V, 56) by making incest legal. Next, Dante mentions Dido, who “killed herself for love” (V,
61) because Aeneas abandoned her. After Dido, came the infamous and “lustful Cleopatra” (V, 62). She
was the Queen of Egypt during the reign of Julius Ceaser, with whom she had an affair with in order to
remain on the throne. She, too, was committing incest by being married to her brother. This topic is
obviously something that Dante found repulsive and sinful since he put two people, Semiramis and
1
Dante, Inferno, Durling and Martinez, eds., V, 69. All subsequent references to the poem are to this edition and are cited
parenthetically in the text.
Cleopatra, in this Circle of the Lustful. Dante continues to mention Helen of Troy, who “brought such
evil times” (V, 64) by helping initiate the Trojan War. Lastly, he mentions Achilles, “who battled Love at
the end” (V, 65), Paris, and Tristan.
In the Inferno, Dante organizes the major sins into layers of Hell. Most likely, he referred to Saint
Thomas Augustine’s view on the sins and how he ranked them into somewhat of a hierarchy. The
deeper Dante and Virgil travel, the worse and more violent the sins become. In Canto V, Virgil and
Dante come to the Second Circle where the Lustful reside. Here, “grief stricken notes begin to make
themselves heard” (V, 25) and “all light is silent” (V, 28). The souls are caught in an “infernal whirlwind”
(V, 31) because “they gave “their reason to lust” (V, 38). Dante places the Lustful at the outermost circle
of Hell. This could mean that he thinks it’s the least severe of all the sins and is the most common among
2
people. As the pilgrim and poet trek through the Circle, they begin to see some historical figures who
are remembered for their romantic, or in Dante’s mind, sinful, adventures. They come across Cleopatra,
Helen of Troy, Achilles, Paris, and a few others who have gone to hell because of their sins against love.
Then, the two travelers come upon the major character of the Canto: Francesca da Rimini.
When Dante hears Francesca speak of how love “had seized this one” (V, 101), he is
overwhelmed with grief and pity for her. Francesca da Rimini was from Ravenna, a city that sat near a
tributary “where the Po decends” (V, 98). She was the daughter of Guido da Polenta, Lord of Revenna,
who had decided to go to war with the lord of Rimini, Malatesta. In order to make sure peace was made
between the two parties, Francesca was forced to marry Gianciotto, Malatesta’s oldest son. Once the
two were able to meet, Francesca knew she could never marry him. Then, she met his younger brother,
Paolo, and it was love at first at first sight. However, Francesca was forced to marry Gianciotto , but the
feelings between Paolo and Francesca never faded. Once their relationship became personal, things
2
“Circle 2, Canto V”. 5 February 2010. The University of Texas at Austin.
<http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/circle2.html> . All subsequent references to the website are cited parenthetically in the
text.
started getting risky. One day, Gianciotto found them spending time together. Paolo tried to run away,
fell, and was caught by his older brother. Gianciotto went to stab Paolo, but Francesca threw herself in
between them, and was stabbed. Gianciotto then proceeded toward Paolo, and stabbed him to death,
as well. The next day, Paolo and Francesca were buried in the same tomb together.3
In Canto V of the Inferno, Dante concentrates on Francesca the most as one of the Lustful. As is
true in other Cantos, he normally chooses a historic figure he feels best represents the sin of that circle.
Her adultery towards her husband was made that much worse because it was with Paolo, Gianciotto’s
brother. Since this was a domestic betrayal between brothers, Francesca tells Dante that “Caina awaits”
her lover (V, 106). Caina is named after Cain from the Bible, whom betrayed his brother, Able, by killing
him (Circle 2, Canto V). Caina is in the lowest part of Hell that contains all who have killed their relatives.
Thus, it makes sense that Paolo would be sent there. However, he and Francesca dwell in the Second
Circle, and are attached so that they aren’t able to forget the reason why they are there. In the Inferno,
all sinners are somehow physically punished in Hell by their sin. Since Paolo and Francesca’s sin was that
of desire and temptation, their punishment is to have to look at, but not touch, one another for the rest
of eternity.
So, when does love turn into lust, which, in turn, sends you to Hell? In Dante’s case, it was most
likely when physical attraction took supremacy over emotional love (Circle 2, Canto V). He was very
against all sins of the flesh. Whether it is the Gluttons, the Sullen, or the Lustful, Dante had a special
place for each of them in Hell. Lust, like the others, was a sin of the flesh because it has to do with overindulgence through the body, but more specifically, through sex. Dante must have also considered it a
3
Grandgent, C.H. Companion to the Divine Comedy/ commentary by C.H. Grandgent as edited by Charles S.Spingleton.
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1975. <http://wisdomportal.com/Romance/Paolo-Francesca.html> All subsequent
references are cited parenthetically in the text.
violent act because Paolo is bound for Caina with the others who were violent against relatives. Every
character he presents in the Second Circle was sent there because they have afflicted some kind of harm
through their sexual over indulgence. Dido, “who killed herself for love” (V, 61); Helen, “who brought
such evil times” (V, 64); and others are just a few more examples. Francesca and Paolo’s relationship
was harmful like these were, but even more so because it hurt a family member. The worst part of lust,
in Dante’s mind, is that all terrible and immoral decisions are based on one thing: the inability to
withstand temptation (Circle 2, Canto V). He believed there was a fine line one must not cross.
Francesca and Paolo’s relationship may not have sent them to Hell if they had not acted on such
immoral desires. As soon as their desires crossed the line to actions, they were doomed.
The Inferno is such a withstanding piece of literature because its contents still have relevance
today. Lust was certainly not something that only existed in Dante’s day. People still deal with issues in
relationships of physical attraction overriding the much needed emotional satisfaction. Some of the
best love stories in the world begin with the undeniable, and most of the time, prohibited, attraction
between two people. Two very well-known examples of this would be Tristan and Isolde, and the story
of Gunivere, Lancelot, and King Arthur. Tristan and Isolde were two people who fell in love through a
potion, but were forced to leave each other due to forced marriages and Tristan being banned from
Isolde’s country. However, they still were deeply in love with each other. Tristan had married another
girl with a similar name to Isolde, but still wanted his original love. He became very ill, and wanted to see
his love for one last time. But, his wife lied and said Isolde was not coming. This threw Tristan into a grief
stricken state and he ended up dying from this.4 The second story about Guinevere, King Arthur, and Sir
Lancelot is often regarded as the best love triangle in history. Guinevere, King Arthur’s wife, was
kidnapped by the evil Meleagant. So, King Arthur sent one of his knights, Lancelot, to go save her and
bring Guinevere safely back. However, once he saved her, they fell in love and began a long and very
4
“Tristan and Isolde”. 26 February 2010. <http://www.angelfire.com/me2/legends/>
harmful love affair. This triangle is often considered to be the cause of the downfall of King Arthur’s
reign and of Camelot itself.5
Francesca and Paolo were no different than many of these stories. They felt an immediate
attraction and, like many others after them, went after the person who sparked the flame inside of
them. But, what if that flame will burn others in the process? Everyone’s entitled to their find their own
love story, right? Love has been said to make people do irrational things. I, after reading Dante, now
believe that it’s not love that makes people crazy- its lust. Everyone does have the right to find their
own love story, even if it does include some irrational and abnormal decision making. But, they must be
aware of which emotion, love or lust, is the driving force. Because once that line is crossed, as seen in
the Inferno, the relationship may simply become another one of Hell’s love stories.
5
“Lancelot”. 26 February 2010.
<http://www.haverford.edu/engl/faculty/maudwebpage/WebArthur/spoils/lancelot.html>
Works Cited
Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri : Inferno. Durling and Martinez eds. 1 vol. New
York, New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 1997. 87-93.
“Circle 2, Canto V”. 5 February 2010. The University of Texas at Austin.
<http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/circle2.html>
Grandgent, C.H. Companion to the Divine Comedy/ commentary by C.H. Grandgent as edited by Charles
S.Spingleton. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1975.
<http://wisdomportal.com/Romance/Paolo-Francesca.html>
“Lancelot”. 26 February 2010.
<http://www.haverford.edu/engl/faculty/maudwebpage/WebArthur/spoils/lancelot.html>
Spingleton, Charles. “Commentary: Dante’s Inferno”. 5 February 2010.
<http://wisdomportal.com/Romance/Paolo-Francesca.html>
“Tristan and Isolde”. 26 February 2010. <http://www.angelfire.com/me2/legends/