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A Woman's Touch /////// Isabelle Ferguson


    There is an interesting female presence in the first and second cantos of Dante's The Inferno. 
    One female is mentioned in the first canto: the She-wolf. Dante encounters a leopard and a lion first while he is lost in the woods. They are described in around four or five lines, and he does not assign them a gender. However, the She-wolf is given seven lines, in which the utter despair she drives Dante into is described. Overall, the She-wolf is the most successful in keeping Dante from his destination. The She-wolf represents incontinence, or lack of self restraint. (Canto 1, lines 33-55) This "beast" represents despair and obstacles for Dante. She is keeping him from reaching his soul's desire.
    There are three women which have an impact on Dante's journey in the second canto: Rachel, Lucia, and Beatrice. "Why / this heartsick hesitation and pale fright / when three such blessed Ladies lean from Heaven / in their concern for you..." (Canto 2, lines 120-123). These women represent hope for Dante. Their concern for him lifts his spirits, and it spurs him on his journey.
    It's interesting how has the role of women has progressed through the literature we have read since last semester. Normally, they are presented in an unfavorable light. Helen is the cause of a war and so many deaths. She is blamed in the Iliad and the Aeneid. Dido falls from honor when she falls in love with Aeneas. She loses everything, including her life. The women we are reading now venture to a more positive light. The queen in Beowulf is described on multiple occasions. She is always performing an act of honor. Now, we have these women in The Inferno. Like Grendel's mother, the She-wolf is still representative of women being evil. However, there is progression towards good in female characters.
What do y'all think?

 P.S. I commented on Haley Riddle's and Abigale Bell's posts.



Comments

  1. Haley RiddleMarch 15, 2021 at 9:53 PM

    Yes! It's about time too! I like the fact that these women are not solely judged by beauty, as we saw in the Iliad. These women are honorable and have good character, they are not seductresses, but they are successful.

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