Symbolism Found in the Inferno

Dante’s Inferno is a treasure trove rich in symbolism. As you flip through the
book, symbolism is always right in front of you, teasing you with irony or providing a
solid example of symbolic retribution. This term means that the punishments are dealt
according to their crimes committed on earth. Let’s take a look at Circle 3 for several
clear examples of this poetic justice. The gluttonous dwell in a torrent of dirtied rain,
lying in slush, and awaiting the fearsome jaws of Cerberus to clamp down on their souls.
Now, gluttons are people who consume with clear obsession, whether that is for people’s
finances, hospitality, or food. These people endure their punishment for a specific reason:
they are both consumed by the endless rainfall and consumed by Cerberus as he ravages
this circle in Hell. The symbolic retribution shown here is that the gluttons endless
consumed during their time on Earth, and now they must endure an eternity being
consumed under God’s watchful eye. Dante’s use of irony in the entire Inferno really
allows the reader to enjoy the suffering of the eternally punished, since they clearly are at
fault for committing any one of these unforgivable sins.

Another interesting thing about symbolism is that there can be multiple meanings
hidden within one topic. I already discussed how Cerberus can be viewed as a retributive
punishment symbolizing endless consumption for those who consumed all of their lives.
When speaking from the Christian allegorical point of view, Cerberus can be seen as a
deformity of the Trinity, showing how Hell is truly a blasphemous land specifically
created to harbor the ones God chooses to separate from his kingdom. Cerberus is also
represented in other cultures as a fearsome beast, but, specifically in Greek and Roman
mythology, Cerberus’ creation came about not from God, but from being the child of two
hybrid gods. What I also found interesting is that the weather condition, while seeming
insignificant at first, holds symbolic meaning as well. The freezing cold terrain that the
gluttons like naked upon hinders their ability to consume. The frigid temperatures slow
down their movements and freeze their joints literally to the bone. This also means that
they can never escape their inevitable consumption from Cerberus. Each soul is also
consumed on by blocking their senses: hearing is consumed by the sounds of Cerberus
howling, the pouring rain hitting the murky slush, and the wailing of other distressed
souls; any sense of smell is drenched in the filthy landscape the gluttons lay upon; all
sense of touch is lost as the chilling rain numbs their nude bodies; taste is ruined with the
flavors of mud puddles and blackened snowfall; sight, surprisingly, is the only thing
allowed to be kept. As you can plainly see, symbolism isn’t just a briefly mentioned issue
in the Inferno: it makes up a large portion of how Dante explains his journey and how the
reader perceives it.