Contrapasso In Dantes Inferno

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Dante Alighiere’s depiction is a frozen wasteland. Sinners lay sprawled in different positions half frozen into the ice. Dante, who enters this circle, sees satan as a being “frozen in the ice up till the midpoint of his chest” (Dante 49). Lucifer himself was also with one head, yet 3 faces, perverting the idea of the “Holy Trinity” (Dante 49). Satan had wings growing out his back “like those of bats (Dante 49). Aside from that, his three faces were the main attraction. Each of these faces had a different color, “the face in the middle was red, the color of anger, the face on the right was white blended with yellow, the color of impotence, (and) the face on the left was black, the color of ignorance” (Dante 49). Interestingly enough, these faces, it’s color, and even the environment (setting) is all pertinent to the idea of contrapasso. …show more content…
The face in the middle who is being eaten by Lucifer and has his feet sticking out is Judas. It is a fitting punishment for him because he betrayed Jesus by telling the Romans where Jesus was, where he was then violently crucified. He also betrays God directly by doing this, which is essentially angering God. This would be the reason why the face is red. The face is representing the feelings God has towards this specific sinner. By putting Judas head first in, he will not be able to see where anyone and he will not be able to betray them the same way he betrayed