Vellutello, Alessandro
Dante bases his definition of gluttony on his own experiences in Florence. While gluttony’s literal meaning is an excessive consumption of food and drinks, Dante broadens the definition to include an excessive acquirement of wealth and power that is obtained at the expense of the city’s civilians. Dante perceives wealthy politicians that exercise more power than what it rightfully allocated to them as guilty of neglecting their civic duties. Dante’s understanding of corruption pertains to his own experiences as political figure in Florence. He introduces his city’s political dynamics through Ciacco. The condemned soul claims that “your city is so full of envy that the sack already overflows” (lines 49-50). The soul is referencing his own experiences in Florence before Dante was born; they most likely refer to the class conflicts between the magnate and the plebeians. The magnate were the wealthy Italian merchants whereas, the plebeians were the commoners. During this time, the plebeians banned the magnate from holding a political position in society. The constant desire for each class to exert their dominance over the other in terms of wealth, prestige, and power frequently plagued Florence’s society, hence the city was already displaying symptoms of gluttony. Ciacco foreshadows the city’s absolute fall to gluttony and Dante’s own exile from Florence. He claims that “the citizens of the divided city” (line 61) will “come to blood, and they party from the woods will drive out the other with much harm” (lines 64-65). The “divided city” refers to the Black and White Guelphs fractions that formed after the Guelphs took control of Florence after defeating the Ghibellines. The Black guelphs approved of the Pope whereas, the White Guelphs including Dante, wanted more independence from the Pope ; hence they were categorized as “the heirs of the Ghibellines” (Museo Casa de Dante). The White Guelphs are “the party from the woods” that drive the Black Guelphs out of Florence after a blood batter which Dante also participates in. However, Ciacco claims that “Then later this party must fall within three suns and the other rise, with the power of one who now hugs the shore” (line 67). Ciacco foreshadows that after 3 years or “three suns,” the Black Guelphs will regain control of Florence while the White Guelphs, including Dante who was an active prior (White Guelph leader) will fall. Ciacco implies that Florence’s internal political turmoil is a manifestation of gluttony itself that will only be intensified when the Black Guelphs will conquer Florence. Ciacco even specifies that “Two are just” (line 73) in the war, which most likely refers to Dante himself and maybe one of his acquaintances. This further reiterates how Dante perceives himself as an anti-corrupt political figure whereas, anyone else who doesn’t govern in the same manner as him is immediately guilty of corruption and in broader terms- gluttony.
Dante uses food imagery as a metaphor for the political corruption that characterizes Florence. In Canto 6, there is a repetition of “heavy rain” (line 7, 32). The heavy rain is actually the physical food and drinks the souls consumed during their lifetime. These souls are most likely political figures who obtained these luxuries at the expense of their subjects. Since they were so greedy for these possessions, they’re raining down on them now. Ironically, the rain fulfills their human desire for materialistic possessions while simultaneously keeping their souls in hell under the heavy weight of their own desires. Ciacco’s status as a corrupt political figure is further reiterated when the word “heavy” is used again to describe an oppressive force. The Ghibellines were described as “Long will they hold their brows, keeping the others down under heavy weights, no matter how they weep or are shamed.” lines 70-71). While there is no implication that Ciacco was a Ghibelline, the word “heavy” is used twice in Canto 6, once to describe the corrupt behavior of politicians and the other to describe the rain, both are oppressive forces. The author is equating the heavy oppression and political injustice with heavy rain which serves as their punishment. This implies that Ciacco himself must’ve been a “heavy” oppressive force in Florence in order to be punished by the “heavy” rain. The rain parallels the nature of the oppressors. The oppressors didn’t care if the subjects “weep or are ashamed”, likewise, the rain doesn’t care if the souls weep or display shame with their “bent heads” (line 92). Moreover, the rain’s “rule and quality never change” (line 9) just like the politicians never changed the unjust way they governed society. Ciacco represents how corrupt political figures are punished on a microscopic scale. He asks Dante about Florence’s corrupt political figures such as Farinata, Tegghiaio, Iacopo Rusticucci, Arrigo, and Mosca. He uses food imagery to ask if “Heaven sweetens them or hell poisons them” (line 84). The sweetened food represents what the politicians earned while the poisoned food represents what they wrongfully consumed. This alludes to the Adam and Eve’s unlawful consumption of the apple in paradise which ultimately poisoned them and they fell through the ranks. Similarly, these political figures consumed what they weren’t supposed to and fell through the virtuous ranks into hell. Hence, Dante observes that all these souls have “the emptiness that seems a human body” (line 36) which means that their soul is empty because they always fed their body instead of their soul. Their empty human body is actually their empty stomach, it doesn’t have any food because they fed materialistic content to their body instead of substantial virtues and deeds to their soul. Thus, it becomes apparent that their gluttony left their souls hungry and their bodies eternally empty.
Citations:
“Florence at the Time of Dante Alighieri.” Museo Casa Di Dante, Firenze, www.museocasadidante.it/en/dante-alighieri/in-florence/.
Additional Information: The image is from the University of Texas at Austin. The image depicts the 3rd circle of Hell where the “food” is raining down on the gluttons.
