Dante's Empathy Quotes

Throughout this Canticle, it is clear that Dante used to show empathy towards the sinners, and thus, it has to be Virgil's influence that makes him become wrathful. One of the first places that Virgil leads Dante is where the lustful sinners are being punished. It is very dark and there is a giant whirlwind whipping around the sinners, who have wings attached to their backs. There, Virgil shows Dante some of the sinners in this ring of Hell, such as Semiramis, Cleopatra, Dido, Helen, and Paris. When Dante wants to talk to one of them, Francesca and her lover land right in front of them. Francesca romantically explains how she came to be in this circle of Hell, how she was captured by Love, which “led [them] straight to sudden death together”

In the Malebolge, there is a ditch specifically for the soothsayers. Their bodies are twisted, with their heads facing their heels. Dante says that the image is extremely disturbing, and it is clear that it affects him. Dante breaks down, as he still has a lot of his empathetic self left. He has to “[lean his] body/ against a jut of rugged rock” as he weeps for the soothsayers (252). This would be a great moment for Virgil to comfort Dante, but he doesn’t. Virgil, being the great teacher that he is, tells Dante, “So you are still like all the other fools” (252). This is a major point in the poem. Virgil tells Dante that it is not only wrong to feel remorse towards the sinners, but he is a fool if he does. Virgil even follows this up with one of the most impactful lines from the canticle. Virgil tells Dante that, in Hell, “piety lives when pity is dead” (252). In just this one moment, Virgil not only tells Dante that he is a fool if he feels empathy towards the soothsayers, he also tells Dante that he must abandon all pity for him to be a truly devout person. It is clear that Dante would be moved by this statement since he is a very religious man, but it is strange that Virgil is telling Dante. It seems as though Virgil is using Dante’s religious beliefs to manipulate him into becoming the wrathful version of himself that we see when they reach

In the later parts of the poem, Virgil and Dante reach the cocytus. This is a giant place of traitors frozen in ice. While Dante is walking through the field of heads sticking out of the ice, he accidentally kicks one. Understandably, the sinner starts cussing Dante out for kicking him in the face. Dante wants to clear up the misunderstanding, but when the sinner refuses to tell Dante his name, Dante “grabbed him by his hair… and… pulled out more than one fistful,/ while he yelped” (365). [draw attention to how awful it is] Unlike past circles such as the suicide forest, Virgil doesn’t say anything. Virgil no longer needs to instruct Dante on how to behave, as Dante will now be openly wrathful without Virgil’s command. While some may say that Dante only did this because he recognized the sinner (who turns out to be Bocca Abati), that isn’t true. Dante only gets the name of the sinner after tearing his hair out. Virgil’s influence on Dante has caused him to become impulsive, however, it is no surprise. Earlier in the book, Dante was rewarded by Virgil when he acted childishly towards a sinner. When Dante and Virgil are taking a trip on Phlegyas’ boat, Dante sees a sinner that he recognizes. Dante tells the soul “may you weep and wail/… in this place forever…/ filthy as you are” (139). Dante is being quite childish and