History YMMV / TheDivineComedy

* FanFicFuel: The concept that there are CirclesOfHell for each sin humanity commits against God has lead to a host of additions, modernizations, and homages of the ''Inferno'' in order to make a case against a particular sin that bugs the author. These types of fics go back to at least [[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1902/08/16/101280136.pdf 1902]].

* WhatAnIdiot: Virgil is told by the AlwaysChaoticEvil devils damned in the circle for {{Consummate Liar}}s that the bridge out of their circle has been destroyed and that it is now impossible to move on past this shortcut the devils know.
** '''You'd Expect''': That Virgil would ignore the literal demons and take the path God has lined out.\\
'''Instead''': Virgil takes the devils advise and goes their way.\\
'''The Result''': The devils attempt to kill Virgil and his charge, forcing them to jump out of the circle down into the pit of the hypocrites, who make fun of Virgil for not sticking on his original path.

**

** ''Paradiso'' places two nuns who were forced into marriage[[note]]one of the nuns calls herself a virgin, leaving rape out of the picture.[[/note]] in the lowest sphere of Heaven, since the marriages broke their vows of chastity. This is abhorrent to modern readers, who naturally question how non-consenting victims could put in a lesser place for having evil done to them. Dante's guide answers these concerns in two ways: one, the nuns normally sit with every other saint and angel in God's Empyrean and two, the guide claims that the nun Piccarda failed to "absolutely" will to avoid the marriage. This second answer brings us back to Values Dissonance, since the modern thinking about sexual assault makes it quite clear that the victim is never, ever at fault. There is the additional fact that Piccarda's fate contradicts the actual teachings of the Fathers of the Church ''pre-dating'' Dante by almost a thousand years. St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory of Neocaesarea take care to explicitly state it in their rules that a rape does ''not'' make a woman less chaste.

** While Piccarda Donata went to Heaven, she is stuck on the lowest "level" (The Moon) for breaking her vows as a nun, even though she was forced into an ArrangedMarriage and had no choice in the matter. While the poem says she's [[DiedHappilyEverAfter content with her fate,]] it seems rather unfair (particularly to [[ValuesDissonance modern readers]]) that she's got put in the lowest level of Heaven for something that wasn't her fault.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: The people in Limbo, as they aren't even sinners but just lived in the wrong time and place (or didn't get baptized), and while they are not actively tormented, they still missed out on Heaven through no fault of their own. This is actually pointed out multiple times by Dante, who remarks in-universe how unfair this feels.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: The people in Limbo, as they aren't even sinners but just lived in the wrong time and place (or didn't get baptized), and while they are not actively tormented, they still missed out on Heaven through no fault of their own.

** For those who don't share a medieval Catholic vision of the afterlife, or medieval Catholic ideas of right and wrong, the punishments can come across as DisproportionateRetribution in the extreme. And it is very controversial in some of the acts Dante considered as sins, but viewed by most modern-day people as matters of biology (like homosexuality) or mental illness (like hoarding and suicide). Things that deserve compassion rather than condemnation, and if Dante wrote today how these people should be tortured forever, he would be ''cancelled'' to the Tenth Circle himself. But it is important to note (as alluded to below) that the ''Comedy'' is an allegorical poem, not a theological work, and is therefore more an expression of Dante's thoughts and [[ArtisticLicense creativity]] than of the beliefs and teachings of Catholicism in the Middle Ages. Also, Modern Catholic dogma now subscribes to the doctrine of "Eternal Separation" (the suffering of Hell is [[SelfInflictedHell mental]], there is no torture but the despair and isolation of being deprived of God's love, which is closer to what Dante actually believed) and even says people who commit sins out of mental illness [[InsanityDefense usually aren't culpable]], as they aren't acting under their true free will.

* CompleteMonster: [[FallenAngel Dis]]/[[{{Satan}} Lucifer]] was once "the highest of all creatures", above every angel and man gifted by [[{{God}} the Highest Joy]] with immortality, invincibility, super intelligence, and perfect happiness. However, Dis came to love his superiority to the lower angels and only that superiority, making the supremacy of his Father unbearable. In acting on this {{pride}}, he convinced his fellow angels and the first humans to rebel against the Love known as God. With his rebellion, the Devil introduced all the evil, suffering, and death that would ever be into the world while condemning any who followed him to [[{{Hell}} Inferno]], a realm of eternal torment where souls are forced to endure tortures such as being transformed into twisted, broken trees; feasted upon by harpies; and being submerged in a river of boiling tar. With his angelic intelligence, Dis knew all of this would happen if he carried out his "arrogant rape", yet brought all of the tortures and crimes described in ''Inferno'' into existence without any remorse.

* MemeticMutation: "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" is one of the most famous literary quotes in the English world, popular as a short-hand for Hell.

* HilariousInHindsight: The punishment of {{corrupt politician}}s -- being trapped in boiling pitch -- is especially [[IronicHell ironic]] considering the politics behind oil today.

** For those who don't share a medieval Catholic vision of the afterlife, or medieval Catholic ideas of right and wrong, the punishments can come across as DisproportionateRetribution in the extreme. And it is very controversial in some of the acts Dante considered as sins, but viewed by most modern-day people as matters of biology (like homosexuality) or mental illness (like hoarding and suicide). Things that deserve compassion rather than condemnation, and if Dante wrote today how these people should be tortured forever, he would be ''cancelled'' to the Tenth Circle himself. But it is important to note (as alluded to below) that the ''Comedy'' is an allegorical poem, not a theological work, and is therefore more an expression of Dante's thoughts and [[ArtisticLicense creativity]] than of the beliefs and teachings of Catholicism in the Middle Ages. Also, Modern Catholic dogma now subscribes to the doctrine of "Eternal Separation" (the suffering of Hell is [[SelfInflictedHell mental]], there is no torture but the despair and isolation of being deprived of God's love, which is closer to what Dante actually intended) and even says people who commit sins out of mental illness [[InsanityDefense usually aren't culpable]], as they aren't acting under their true free will.

** For those who don't share a medieval Catholic vision of the afterlife, or medieval Catholic ideas of right and wrong, the punishments can come across as DisproportionateRetribution in the extreme. It is also important to note (as alluded to below) that the ''Comedy'' is an allegorical poem, not a theological work, and is therefore more an expression of Dante's thoughts and [[ArtisticLicense creativity]] than of the beliefs and teachings of Catholicism in the Middle Ages.

** Some of the acts Dante condemns as sins would be viewed by most modern-day people as matters of biology (like homosexuality) or mental illness (like hoarding and suicide), things that deserve compassion rather than condemnation. Modern Catholic dogma even says people who commit sins out of mental illness [[InsanityDefense usually aren't culpable]], as they aren't acting under their true free will.

** Some of the acts Dante condemns as sins would be viewed by most modern-day people as matters of biology (like homosexuality) or mental illness (like hoarding and suicide). Modern Catholic dogma even says people who commit sins out of mental illness [[InsanityDefense usually aren't culpable]], as they aren't acting under their true free will.

** Dante's whole hierarchy of sins with regards to the CirclesOfHell seems rather odd at some places to the modern reader. Most of all, he considers fraud to be ''worse than genocide'', as mass murderers are in Circle 7 and frauds are in Circle 8. However, once you understand the era where Dante lived in (the Feudal Era, the so called "Age Of Chivalry"), every aspect of society was based on oaths of fealty, of swearing UndyingLoyalty to one's lord/benefactor/friend, and all oaths or contracts are sworn in the name of God. Thus, fraud, and especially [[TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil treason]], would probably be considered the worst kind of sins, as it is literally [[AnarchyIsChaos the destruction of societal order]] and sending a fuck you to God Himself. This leads to an unusual case of Values Dissonance '''within''' a case of Values Resonance. The Ninth Circle punishes [[TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil treachery]] against [[MurderintheFamily kindred]], [[TheQuisling country]], [[SacredHospitality guests]], [[TheUsurper lords]], and [[TheHeretic God]]. While non-religious readers and cultures may not care about the last one, the other four are almost universally reviled. The Dissonance comes from the order they're placed in. For instance, not many modern readers would consider betraying a guest worse than betraying your family.

** Dante's whole hierarchy of sins with regards to the CirclesOfHell seems rather odd at some places to the modern reader. Most of all, he considers fraud to be ''worse than murder'', as murderers are in Circle 7 and frauds are in Circle 8. Part of this is undoubtedly due to the time and place Dante lived in, as during the so called "Age Of Chivalry" a premium was put on honor and honesty, meaning that fraud, and especially [[TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil treason]], would probably be considered the worst kind of sins. This leads to an unusual case of Values Dissonance '''within''' a case of Values Resonance. The Ninth Circle punishes [[TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil treachery]] against [[MurderintheFamily kindred]], [[TheQuisling country]], [[SacredHospitality guests]], [[TheUsurper lords]], and [[TheHeretic God]]. While non-religious readers and cultures may not care about the last one, the other four are almost universally reviled. The Dissonance comes from the order they're placed in. For instance, not many modern readers would consider betraying a guest worse than betraying your family.

** Some of the acts Dante condemns as sins would be viewed by most modern-day people as matters of biology (E.G homosexuality) or mental illness (E.G hoarding, suicide). Modern Catholic dogma even says people who commit sins out of mental illness [[InsanityDefense usually aren't culpable,]] as they aren't acting under their true free will.

** Satan's black faces is unfavorably compared to that of an Ethiopian. If Dante lived in the modern first-world or in Ethiopia ever, he might have thought twice about writing that.

* Some of the acts Dante condemns as sins would be viewed by most modern-day people as matters of biology (E.G homosexuality) or mental illness (E.G hoarding, suicide). Modern Catholic dogma even says people who commit sins out of mental illness [[InsanityDefense usually aren't culpable,]] as they aren't acting under their true free will.

** ''Paradiso'' places two nuns who were forced into marriage[[note]]one of the nuns calls herself a virgin, leaving rape out of the picture.[[/note]] in the lowest sphere of Heaven, since the marriages broke their vows of chastity. This is abhorrent to modern readers, who naturally question how unconsenting victims could put in a lesser place for having evil done to them. Dante's guide answers these concerns in two ways: one, the nuns normally sit with every other saint and angel in God's Empyrean and two, the guide claims that the nun Piccarda failed to "absolutely" will to avoid the marriage. This second answer brings us back to Values Dissonance, since the modern thinking about sexual assault makes it quite clear that the victim is never, ever at fault. There is the additional fact that Piccarda's fate contradicts the actual teachings of the Fathers of the Church ''pre-dating'' Dante by almost a thousand years. St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory of Neocaesarea take care to explicitly state it in their rules that a rape does ''not'' make a woman less chaste.
** The entire concept of Limbo. If you haven't committed any sins and lived before Christ was born, or instead an unbaptized child, it meant that you cannot access Heaven. Limbo was notably a controversial theological concept even in Dante's day and was largely undefined, giving Dante a significant amount of creative freedom in the way he depicted it. Certain decisions (making it a Circle of Hell, for example) are bound to read poorly to a modern audience.
** Dante's whole hierarchy of sins with regards to the CirclesOfHell seems rather odd at some places to the modern reader. Most of all, he considers fraud to be ''worse than murder'', as murderers are in Circle 7 and frauds are in Circle 8. Part of this is undoubtedly due to the time and place Dante lived in, as during the so called "Age Of Chivalry" a premium was put on honor and honesty, meaning that fraud, and especially [[TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil treason]], would probably be considered the worst kind of sins. This leads to an unusual case of [[ValuesDissonance Values Dissonance]] '''within''' a case of [[ValuesResonance Values Resonance]]. The Ninth Circle punishes [[TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil trea]][[RewardedasaTraitorDeserves chery]] against [[MurderintheFamily kindred]], [[LesCollaborateurs coun]][[TheQuisling try]], [[SacredHospitality guests]], [[BodyguardBetrayal lo]][[DeceptiveDisciple rd]][[TheUsurper s]], and [[TheHeretic God]]. While non-religious readers and cultures may not care about the last one, the other four are almost universally reviled. The Dissonance comes from the order they're placed in. For instance, not many modern readers would consider betraying a guest worse than betraying your family.

* WhatAnIdiot: Virgil is told by the AlwaysChaoticEvil devils damned in the circle for {{Consummate Liar}}s that the bridge out of their circle has been destroyed and that it is now impossible to move on past this shortcut the devils know.\\
'''You'd Expect''': That Virgil would ignore the literal demons and take the path God has lined out.\\

* AcceptableReligiousTargets: Islam is presented as a false schism of Christianity by Dante, a move that audiences found uncontroversial until the twentieth century brought the ''Comedy'' to a far more Christo-skeptical audience.

** Brutus and Cassius are second only to Judas and Satan himself in their punishment, each being gnawed in one of Satan's mouths, while Julius Caesar himself is in Limbo. Given that Brutus and Cassius assassinated Caesar out of fear of his becoming a tyrant, while Caesar conducted ruthless and bloody wars of conquest to make himself ruler of Rome, modern eyes are much less likely to see Caesar's assassination as quite so black and white as Dante did.
** For those who don't share a medieval Catholic vision of the afterlife, or medieval Catholic ideas of right and wrong, the punishments can come across as DisproportionateRetribution in the extreme.
** ''Paradiso'' places two nuns who were forced into marriage[[note]]one of the nuns calls herself a virgin, leaving rape out of the picture.[[/note]] in the lowest sphere of Heaven, since the marriages broke their vows of chastity. This is abhorrent to modern readers, who naturally question how unconsenting victims could put in a lesser place for having evil done to them. Dante's guide answers these concerns in two ways: one, the nuns normally sit with every other saint and angel in God's Empyrean and two, the guide claims that the nun Piccarda failed to "absolutely" will to avoid the marriage. This second answer brings us back to Values Dissonance, since the modern thinking about sexual assault makes it quite clear that the victim is never, ever at fault. Even if Piccarda was never assaulted sexually, the idea that she was in some way responsible for a kidnapping that she didn't consent parallels the victim blaming unjustly faced by victims of rape. Dante's depiction of Piccarda is well-thought out, but that doesn't ease the moral gap between her fate and modern ethics of consent. At the same time, however, it should be noted that in Heaven everyone is equally close to God and is said that it purposelly organized itself into spheres to make things easier for Dante.
*** There is the additional fact that Piccarda's fate contradicts the actual teachings of the Fathers of the Church ''predating'' Dante by almost a thousand years. St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory of Neocaesarea take care to explicitly state it in their rules that a rape does ''not'' make a woman less chaste.
** The entire concept of Limbo. If you haven't committed any sins and lived before Christ was born, or instead an unbaptized child, it meant that you cannot access Heaven.
** Dante's whole hierarchy of sins with regards to the CirclesOfHell seems rather odd at some places to the modern reader. Most of all, he considers fraud to be ''worse than murder'', as murderers are in Circle 7 and frauds are in Circle 8. Part of this is undoubtedly due to the time and place Dante lived in, as during the so called "Age Of Chivalry" a premium was put on honor and honesty, meaning that fraud, and especially [[TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil treason]], would probably be considered the worst kind of sins.
*** This leads to an unusual case of [[ValuesDissonance Values Dissonance]] '''within''' a case of [[ValuesResonance Values Resonance]]. The Ninth Circle punishes [[TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil trea]][[RewardedasaTraitorDeserves chery]] against [[MurderintheFamily kindred]], [[LesCollaborateurs coun]][[TheQuisling try]], [[SacredHospitality guests]], [[BodyguardBetrayal lo]][[DeceptiveDisciple rd]][[TheUsurper s]], and [[TheHeretic God]]. While non-religious readers and cultures may not care about the last one, the other four are almost universally reviled. The Dissonance comes from the order they're placed in. For instance, not many modern readers would consider betraying a guest worse than betraying your family.

* HarsherInHindsight: The first seven "levels" of heaven are the planets of the solar system out to Saturn, plus the moon and sun. Venus (the third level) is mainly about love. Considering that in modern times we've sent probes to ''UsefulNotes/Venus'' and know that it's anything but heavenly or lovely, this is kind of disturbing.