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What’s your Bias? ~ Madalyn Dillard

     Reading Dante’s Inferno has been a whirlwind of biases. At first, I was mad since people who were in Hell were there purely based off of what Dante thought of the characters. Sure, some of the people featured in Hell had reasons to corroborate their place, but others are there for reasons that are simply ludicrous. For example, Helen, most commonly known from Homer’s Iliad, was in the position of the third circle, Lust. If I remember correctly, Helen probably did not have a say as to who kidnapped her and used her body for pleasure which would fit the era that the famous story took place. 

    As I was writing the sentence right above what you are reading now, I thought of what the story would be like if Dante did not write with a bias, and I imagine that it would be very boring. Hell would be practically empty without biases. If you were Dante in modern era, who would be the people in your version of the Inferno? Of course, most people will say something like, “Evil people like Hitler or Charles Manson would surely be in Hell.” However, this is also a little biased. So, my initial hatred of Dante’s biased approach has changed. Even though I still disagree with some choices Dante made (Helen), I, now, read with a little more clarity. 


I commented on Brooke and Rachael’s posts. 

Comments

  1. Rachael GregsonMarch 15, 2021 at 4:55 PM

    I agree with you. This is why we should leave all the judgment to God, because God is far from being bias. Dante basically threw anyone he wanted into hell, and I guess being the writer, he had every freedom to do so to world build. But some of the people there didn't deserve to be there, and I found it quite odd (unlike they did something we don't know about).

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  2. Caroline TuckerMarch 15, 2021 at 7:20 PM

    I agree! I was shocked that Dante put Dido into hell and specifically in the circle of hell that included lust and love. She did not choose to love or even lust, if she did. She was in love with Aeneas because the gods put a “spell” on her. She did not choose to love him and she killed herself because of beer love. So, is she in hell because she did not choose love or because she killed herself out of her love?

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  3. Haylee LyndMarch 15, 2021 at 9:48 PM

    I find it fascinating that you say "in Hell." I think all except those who accept Christ as their savior deserve to be in Hell, and I think Dante writes it that way, even putting Virgil rightly into it. He does, however, seem a little biased against the women. I will say that Virgil, from whom Dante derives inspiration, also puts Dido in Hell.

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