Author’s hate for Argenti

“A little after that, I saw such havoc
Made of him by the people of the mire,
That still I praise and thank my God for it.” (Alighieri 58)

I would like to talk about Author’s hatred for Argenti. The quote above is towards Argenti, and it’s evident that Dante (both the author and character) did not think highly of Argenti.  Up until now, Dante expresses nothing but sadness and guilt for these sinners except Argenti. It’s fascinating to see the reason why he is placed in this circle. We know that this circle is exclusively for sinners whom have committed wrath. For those whom are unfamiliar with this circle; these are people whom were consumed with anger in their lives. Now we don’t know in details Argenti’s backstory, or his relation towards the character Dante, but we do know from the text’s footnote(102 pages 63-64) that Boccaccio had mentioned in his Comento that Philippo Argenti is a man of great “pomp and ostentation”. We can suspect that this Argenti is an unpleasant person, and there’s unresolved conflict between the author and Argenti. I would like to know more about their conflict but I digress. What’s important in this post is how funny it was that the author managed to put this character Argenti whom as far as I can tell was no real substance to this sinner in terms of the grand scheme of the author’s intentions. Argenti wronged the author is the most minimal way, and now he is forever cemented in text to be ripped apart by his fellow sinners.