Suloni Robertson

Lucifer (with Brutus, Judas, & Cassius)

I found this photo in a Circle 9 Gallery , The University of Texas at Austin, http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/gallery12.html

 Dante’s journey through hell is slowly coming to an end. As he walks on sinners (literally) completely submerged in thick ice, he can barely see, through dense fog, an enormous shape slowly appearing on the horizon (similar situation to when he saw the giants). Both the pilgrim and the readers anticipate to finally see not only the greatest sinner of them all but also the most terrifying and ultimate punishment that takes place at the very bottom of hell. Dante builds the suspense with the pilgrim’s words: “How do I became frozen and feeble, do not ask, reader, for I do not write it, and all speech would be insufficient.” (Divine Comedy, Canto XXXIV v. 22-24). Will this encounter with “the emperor of the dolorous kingdom” (Divine Comedy, Canto XXXIV v. 27) go beyond sadness, anguish, despair and growing cruelty that we saw through the pilgrim’s eyes in previous cantos? Or are we, the readers, up for a big disappointment?

First of all, although the physical appearance of the fallen angel might look horrifying end extremely bestial at first glance, it doesn’t seem so scary after more thorough observation. Lucifer is completely isolated, trapped in a frozen lake from the waist down. He has three faces with three different colors (yellow – impotence, red – ignorance, black – hate), which mirror the Trinity. As Barollini described it: “In spiritual terms, Lucifer is the antithesis of the Divine Trinity: Lucifer spirates death where the Trinity spirates love.” He moves his gigantic bat wings bringing about freezing wind that keeps the ice from melting.

Besides, the king of hell, although repulsive and frightful, is completely immobile. He performs several functions, in a very mechanical and repetitive way, that make him look like a robot. He mechanically bats his wings and continuously munches on three damned souls (Judas Iscariot, Brutus and Cassius). The bloody tears that come out of his monstrous eyes also seem robotic because there is no emotion to be seen in his face (or faces in this case) The repetitive and ongoing movement makes Lucifer extremely predictable, monotonous but also powerless. It is obvious that he is nothing but an instrument operated by God’s hands.

Moreover, Lucifer is completely mute, unable to express himself in any way. He is deprived of any voice, emotion or reaction. There is no communication between him and the pilgrim, no involvement or any part, no interest. This is completely different from what was presented in previous Cantos. Dante was able to communicate with the damned souls who expressed their reaction to the situation they found themselves in. Some of them asked the pilgrim to remember them when he gets back to the living. The sinners in previous cantos have a voice, some show emotions, some tell their stories and some just choose to stay silent and be eternally forgotten.

To sum up, the last encounter between the pilgrim and the king of hell seems a little puzzling and powerless, although expected to be powerful and dramatic. The characters do not have any kind of relationship or communication due to the fact that Lucifer is only a mechanical beast performing robotic functions. It comes as a surprise that he is in fact utterly insignificant, immobile, sterile and mute. Who I believed to be the biggest sinner at the bottom of hell is not in fact one of those being endlessly tormented. He is nothing but a tool in God’s hands, like other devils in hell. He doesn’t participate whatsoever in Dante’s moral growth, which will eventually bring him closer to God, but he does provide a passage for the pilgrim and his guide to Purgatorio.