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The Desires of Limbo - Caroline Tucker

 Dante’s Inferno is a very interesting read with a lot of interesting symbolisms and concepts. There is so much that can be discussed and even argued about. One thing I found very interesting is the concept of Limbo. Limbo seems to be a place of peace and of longing. At first, it does not show that there is punishment. That is because it is full of people who “were sinless. And still their merits fail, / for they lacked Baptism’s grace” (Dante, 33-35). They lacked sin but were not saved. Because of this, they were cast into limbo. Limbo is full of philosophers, mathematicians, and heroes. Mainly, it was full of smart people who did not know God. The thing about Limbo I find interesting is that at first glance it does not punish. If we look deeper, however, it is seen that there is an underlying punishment. The punishment is that they all are held by their desire (42). From what I could gather, Dante is not very clear as to what the desire is. I believe that there are two possibilities for what they are desiring. The first is that they desire knowing the answer to how to get to heaven and not be in hell. The second is that they know the answer which makes them desire to go to heaven. Depending on which is the correct answer, changes the concept of the punishment of Limbo.

What are your thoughts?


P.s. I commented on Madalyn’s and Addison’s posts.

Comments

  1. Lily CaswellMarch 15, 2021 at 8:43 PM

    While reading this, I thought it was kind of weird how all the inhabitants of the circles of Hell were being punished according to their sins while those in Limbo were seemingly being not punished. I think it’s probably the first possibility that is their punishment: they want to know why they’re in Hell and not Heaven

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  2. abbieheddenMarch 15, 2021 at 9:43 PM

    It reminds me a lot of The Good Place to be honest! It's a show regarding a lot of religions' viewpoints on what happens after we die. In The Good Place, the main character Eleanor Shellstrop says that "medium people" should go to a medium place, like Cincinnati. I like the idea, but it kind of goes against what I believe regarding sin. Once you have sinned against God, you have infinitely sinned as He is infinitely holy. Very interesting concept!

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  3. Logan TurnerMarch 16, 2021 at 9:43 AM

    Yeah, that actually makes sense. I always wondered why Limbo is technically a part of Hell, but the residents are not getting punished in any obvious way. I suppose their punishment being the fact that they know they can't go to Heaven, or be damned in Hell is their punishment in and of itself.

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