Howl Like Dogs in the Freezing Storm: Circle Three (The Gluttons)

1. Howl Like Dogs in the Freezing Storm: Circle Three (The Gluttons) Feraco Myth to Science Fiction 16 November 2011

2. Canto VI: Data File • Setting: The Third Circle • Figures: Cerberus, Ciacco, Plutus • Allusions: Florentine Politics, Judgment • Punishable Sin: Gluttony • Summary: Dante awakens and finds himself in the Third Circle. The poets discover Cerberus slashing at the gluttons, but elude him by feeding him some of the foul waste the souls beneath them writhe in. When Dante passes, one soul, Ciacco, rises and speaks with him, sharing a prophecy regarding Florence – one we already know comes true. The poets move on.

3. The Punishment • The Third Circle is reminiscent of a giant trash heap, or the runny inside of a foul dumpster • The sinners lie in waste, both human and otherwise, freezing at all times (their obsession with material left their souls cold), while they are consumed by a ravening beast (Cerberus, the personification of their unchecked desires) • Why does Dante seem to consider gluttony as a worse sin than lust? • They’re both Deadly Sins, and both are considered “Sins of the She-Wolf” (i.e., sins of immoderation) • Not everyone shared Dante’s view; others believed lust was the greater evil

4. Gluttony • For Dante, the relationship between lust and gluttony stretched back to Biblical times • Eve eats (consumes) the fruit she isn’t supposed to eat • She then tempts Adam, who consumes it in turn • Temptation and consumption link both sins; in both cases, we’re supposed to resist instinct • Gluttony, however, only requires the weakness of one (as opposed to shared desire) • Just as Dante added complexity to lust during his study, he seems to add complexity to it here • The gluttony we encounter is not confined to matters of food or money; the figures battling endlessly over power in Florence are gluttons in their own right

5. Cerberus • In most portrayals, Cerberus is a three-headed dog; in some (Dante’s included), at least one of his heads retains some human qualities • He popped up in The Aeneid as well; Aeneas’s retainer (the Sybil) feeds him something that causes him to fall asleep • Here, Virgil throws something foul down his throat, and he moves away choking…a very different tone • Cerberus is an appropriate figure here because he represents unhinged consumption; just as the Gluttons consumed everything they could reach, so they are consumed by Cerberus as soon as he can reach them • Dante’s physical descriptions – greasy beard, clawed hands, swollen gut – are meant to conjure up an image of gluttony itself

6. Ciacco • An interesting figure, yet one whom we know little about • Boccaccio’s portrayal shows us a man who was both pleasant and ravenous, someone who could fit in well with polite company yet was utterly unable to control his appetites • Dante should have known him – Florence was small, so Dante knew everyone • Yet Ciacco’s gluttony was so great that it destroyed his very substance, rendering him unrecognizable to Dante • That fear – the fear of being forgotten, even if it meant being notorious – is palpable, and one wonders if Dante shared it

7. The Last Judgment • At the end of Canto VI, Virgil alludes to the Last Judgment (i.e., the Apocalypse). • According to medieval Christian thought, time ends when God descends (as Christ) and judges all souls, at which point he’ll separate the virtuous from those who cannot be saved • The former go to Heaven, and the latter to Hell

8. The Last Judgment (cont’d) • Raffa: “Souls would be judged immediately after death and would then proceed either to hell (if damned) or purgatory (if saved); this judgment would be confirmed at the end of time, and all souls would then spend eternity either in hell or in heaven (as purgatory would cease to exist). “The Divine Comedy presents the state of souls sometime between these two judgments. The souls of the dead will be reunited with their bodies at the end of time. The suffering of the damned (and joy of the blessed) will then increase because the individual is complete and therefore more perfect [or flawed].”

9. In Conclusion • The Third Circle is fairly minor • It’s noteworthy mainly for its introduction of politics (which will have a more important role as we proceed), for its graphic depiction of depravity’s ultimate price, and for the interesting questions it raises about reputation, identity, and the legacies we leave (or never leave) behind