In Cantos XXXII and XXXIII of Dante’s Inferno, Dante specifically addresses this circle of hell to illustrate that there is a bigger theme behind betrayal, the most extreme version of sin, and for Ugolino’s case, self-absorption is what causes his sin of betrayal. Dante’s definition of sin is “[The] loss [of] the good of intellect”(III, 19). His overall agenda connects to Matthew 5:27. The verse states that “anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” From the verse, the poet offers a different perspective of sin: sin as an attitude more than an action.
Dante’s agenda is connected to this verse because he suggests that sin (action) is often disguised with a bigger theme (attitude). In this Canto, Dante enters Antenora, the circle of betrayal of party or country, and encounters “two shades frozen in a single hole” (XXXIII, 281), who Dante later finds out are Count Ugolino della Gherardesca and Archbishop Ruggieri Degli Ubaldini. For his interest in political power, Ugolino allied with Ruggieri, who were Ghibellines, and forced Judge Nino Visconti, his grandson and also a Guelph, to leave Pisa. Later, Ruggieri betrays Ugolino by accusing him of betraying Pisa by giving some of its outlying castles to the Florentines, and Ugolino is ultimately imprisoned with his two sons and two grandsons in 1288.
They starved to death in February of 1289, and both Ugolino and Ruggieri ended up in this particular circle of hell. The two sinners are “frozen in a single hole, packed so close, one head hood[ing] the other one.” As a contrapasso, Ugolino gnaws eternally on the skull of Ruggieri, which mirrors his extreme hunger in real life before death and his act of cannibalism. The analysis will begin with an examination of the interview between Dante and Ugolino, highlighting Ugolino’s self-centeredness, which ultimately led to the death of his children.
Then, it will also explore specific texts from the canto that correspond to particular verses in the Bible, such as John 6 and Luke 11. By confronting betrayal, Cantos XXXII and XXXIII tie in with Dante the poet’s overall agenda of the Inferno, and demonstrate that Ugolino’s self-absorption is the key to all of the sins that he has committed.
Through Ugolino’s response to Dante, he implicitly reveals that self-absorption is the cause of his betrayal against the city of Pisa, and even his absence of paternity towards his children. Ugolino explains to Dante that he was imprisoned with his four children after his betrayal, and scolds him for not weeping for him and his children. After he “heard them nailing shut the door” (XXXIII, 287), food was never brought again, and Ugolino and his children were suffering from hunger. Then, his children offered themselves to relieve Ugolino’s pain of hunger:
“Father: our pain, … Will lessen if you eat us” (XXXIII, 287). When his children are starving, Ugolino does not weep but “turned [in]to [a] stone”(XXXIII, 287). In this case, Ugolino does not provide any type of moral support to his children but instead turns into a stone. Although Ugolino was starving as much as his children were, he ignores his children’s pain and is even accused of cannibalism. This is a sign of self-absorption, because not only does he not put his children before him but he also eats their flesh to attempt to live longer.
Ugolino does not shed tears for his children because his hunger overcame his arousing pity, but ironically he scolds Dante for not weeping for him. Ugolino’s self-centeredness is evident in his lack of sympathy for his children, suggesting that he views the world as revolving around him. Through the Pilgrim, the Poet tries to tell the audience that Ugolino did not change and repent for his own sins, but rather shifts the blame to Ruggieri for putting him in prison. The act of ‘blame-shifting’ is common for the damned souls in hell, Ugolino being no exception.
Even Dante the pilgrim, whose moral compass is broken and pities the wrong people throughout his journey of hell, does not pity Ugolino’s treacherous behavior. This reveals that even the pilgrim notices Ugolino’s loss of the good of intellect. In Ugolino’s eyes, he has ended up in Antenora because of the good forces in Pisa itself in his double-dealing with Nino, but Dante the poet tries to tell us that Ugolino is not just brought by his treacherous behavior, but self-absorption is really what caused Ugolino to sin against his people.
Dante the Poet further elaborates that Ugolino did not repent for his sins because he failed to interpret Jesus’ words according to John 6 in the bible and ignored his children’s redemptive sacrifice. The 12th-century faithful consumed bread and wine during Mass as a part of the Eucharist, believing in the doctrine of transubstantiation. This doctrine holds that the consecrated bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Christ, offering spiritual nourishment and the promise of eternal life.
Ugolino’s children’s naive offering of their flesh to Ugolino echoes Jesus’ offer to the disciples in John 6: 54: Whosoever eateth my flesh…hath eternal life. Ugolino, who likely would have believed this Eucharistic offer as an Italian politician of the time, did not understand Jesus’ words this time and ate his children. This is a failure to interpret Jesus’ words because he eventually ate living flesh (Jesus’s flesh means the word) instead of bread and wine to overcome his hunger. In a truly figurative perspective, as Augustine points out, Jesus’ offering of His living flesh represents His Word. Going back to Canto XXXIII, his children offer Ugolino a redemptive sacrifice.
The contrast between his children’s behavior and his behavior is significant. Whereas his children show innocence and loyalty to his father, Ugolino does not provide any type of support for them nor does he apologize to his children for putting them in prison. Regardless of his children’s behaviors, Ugolino does not obey Jesus’ words nor does he show any pity for his children. Since Ugolino does not understand the redemptive sacrifice offered to him, there is no redemption. He, therefore, ended up in Antenora because he betrayed the Ghibelline party; even though he was given a chance to repent for his sins, he instead ate the redemptive sacrifice that was given to him.
Finally, Ugolino’s behavior as a stone echoes the parable of the importunate friend, and the connection reveals that self-absorption is a bigger theme that caused betrayal over his relationship with his children. As introduced earlier, Ugolino “turned to [a] stone” when his children were just about to starve to death. The idea of Ugolino turning into a stone ties in with the parable of the importunate friend. In the parable, a father tries to get some bread from his friend for his hungry son, but he is rejected many times. Nonetheless, after many trials, he eventually ends up getting bread.
In Luke 11:15, Christ comments ” If a son shall ask for bread of any, you that is a father, will he give him a stone?” Christ suggests that no father will give a stone to his son who is asking for bread. On the contrary, Ugolino, “turned [in]to a stone” himself. Although Ugolino had no way of offering bread to his children, he ignored their hunger and stayed quiet as a stone, and he “watched [his own] children fall till all were dead”(XXXIII, 29). He also didn’t show any type of persistence to save his own children, which is the moral lesson of the parable.
Ugolino broke the bond between a father and a son; in other words, Ugolino did not use his intellect to try to support his children, but he instead turned into a stone. His actions match Dante the poet’s definition of sin. Although Ugolino used his intellect for his own political interest and power, which is why he ended up in this part of hell, Dante demonstrates that self-absorption is behind every sin that he has committed, which echoes his overall agenda that sin is disguised with a bigger theme.
From the perspective of the poet, Ugolino’s loss of his good of intellect for his own political power is just an accusation; what really puts Ugolino in the ninth circle of hell is his self-absorption. Because Ugolino puts himself first than anyone else, he breaks his bond with the Christ, the Ghibelline party, and his own children. Through the analysis above, we have explored Ugolino’s deception in his interview, and how some of the key texts allude to the Bible, John 6 and Luke 11 specifically.
In Cantos XXXII and XXXIII, he critiques Ugolino, a corrupt figure in Italic politics, and reveals Ugolino’s sins in a new perspective. Ugolino betrays many people, but Dante puts him in Antenora because he is specifically accused of betraying the Ghibellines. His self-absorption is what caused him to betray not only the Ghibelline party but also his offspring. The Inferno provides a new perspective of hell; since only a few people who lived in Dante’s lifetime would have betrayed their own country or family. Dante puts corrupt Italian figures of his lifetime to show the most extreme consequences that people can end up with and allows the readers to imagine what hell looks like.
By: Chanwoo
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