FRAUD AND ITS AFTERMATH

s. Dante at this point uses a fellow contemporary to show what happens when one goes against the will of God and sins. Venedico betrays his family ties and his indifference in this act results in his eternal punishment of being whipped by demons. Also mentioned as having been punished is Jason, who suffers punishment for having seduced and abandoned Hypsipyle and Medea. For these two sinners Dantes allegory revolves around the law of retributive justice where both Venedicos and Jasons psychologys at the time of committing sin are tied in with the punishment of whip lashing by demons. Both sinners place their personal needs and interests above others and are now placed under the whip lashing and oppressive command of indifferent demons. Dante and Virgil move over to a bridge and below it, Dante sees the ditch of the flatterers. It is in this trench that persons who had sinned as flatterers are punished by being made to wallow in a river of human excrement from which emanates nauseating fumes. Dante recognizes Alessio Interminelli da Lucca. Allesio is smeared all over with excrement. Virgil alerts Dante of the presence of yet another sinner, Thas. Thas is punished in the same way as Alessio, but is made to alternatively rise and crouch in the river of excrement. Thas is punished for being a prostitute and for a flattering lie that she told while in the trade. The punishment that this two consequently suffer is the eternal stench and filth of the ditch. Thas in this canto perpetuates the image of ingenuine love which turns out to be a mere outlet for bodily urges and needs. From the perspective of Thas and Allesios punishment we see that they both undergo the process of retributive justice. Flatterers, due to their abuse of language wallow in excrement which metaphorically symbolizes the words they used in flattering others on earth. In conclusion it can be seen that Dante views fraud...