Black is the Absence of Light, and Hell is the Absence of God
Victims of God’s perfect anger are continuously desirous of having their fame spread in the land of the living. Even upon the receiving of their punishments, the damned in Hell tend to feel an affinity to temporal, earthly things, rather than dwelling on their miserable state. This is a tangible indicator of the ceiling that those in hell are placed under. This is the ceiling of purpose for all the condemned in Hell: To be proud of the fame they acquired during their time living in the world. Dante presents this concept in a way that makes it easy to have eyes for eternity. The levels in Hell idea also brings to mind the levels of heaven, and the implications regarding a closeness with God, and how that idea should subsequently be applied in life.
Dante sheds light on the way the world goes ‘round in Hell, speaking of the shade in the second ring of the seventh circle in Hell, the ring of Hell for those condemned for their own violence against themselves: Virgil, in Canto eight, knowing how things are done in Hell, knows the currency the damned use and let’s Dante know: “But tell him who you are, so that his praises / May make amends by freshening your fame / When he returns again to the world above” (Qtd in R. Pinsky, N. Pinsky 103).
Dante, en route to making amends to the tree/man, must listen to the shade and convey his message to those yet living on earth, that he had not been guilty of treason toward his lord, and should therefore be remembered well: “If you return to the world above / Either of you, please comfort my memory” (105). The hope for the vindication of his name on earth is the highest thing that this soul can hope for, which, all things considered, is completely trivial when that is his highest hope for all of eternity.
Capaneus, likewise, is only concerned about keeping up his reputation as a bona fide rebel. He defied God (Zeus really, but an analogy pointing to God), and is still worried about preserving his own honor. There is no hope for him because there is obviously no sense of remorse or despair in him. He receives pain, but does not cognitively accept his place because of his own pride, which is the one thing he is able to hold on to.
The Guelph Florentines who now dwell in the fourth ring of the seventh ring, who are condemned for their sodomy, have only one request: “if you escape from this dark sphere/ To see the beauty of the stars, and relish / The pleasure then of saying ‘I was there’ - / Speak words of us to others” (Alighieri Canto XVI 72-75).
Even in death, and personal suffering, all the sufferers can desire is fame in the world above. They could have spent their message from Hell by warning their loved ones or descendants about the reality of Hell, and how terrific God’s judgment really is, but instead they are restrained by the ceiling imposed upon them by their earthly pride.
Side-stepping the obvious personal imperative to be good so I don’t go to Hell, I try to think of Heaven. The incentive of Heaven is active: not passive. We get to experience God’s light for an eternity in Heaven, rather than: we get to escape Hell and not have to burn for eternity. The reading of Paradiso just the other day struck me in a very deep way. The idea of levels of heaven struck me as something to look forward to, rather than something to be resentful of. Having recently discussed the gothic perspective on stained-glass windows, and God’s light shining through the saints, I was struck in multiple ways. The stained glass windows in the library are nice, but also the reading by Mitzi Ganelin put a period at the end of my sentence of revelation. Someone of her age, especially a woman of faith, shining from the sunlight through the stained-glass windows, reading Paradiso (and with such conviction!) painted a picture of someone close to God. I understood the idea of God’s light shining through the saints, and I was able to see God’s Light in that moment, through Ms. Ganelin.
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