06. The Never-Ending Storm

In this lecture, we examine the nature of incontinencesubjecting reason to desireby examining lust, the sin explored in Inferno 5. Here, the pilgrim meets many figures but has a sustained encounter with one of them, Francesca da Rimini. Because this is the first sustained encounter that Dante has with a figure of the afterlife, it is a particularly important scene for understanding the nature of hell and the essence of all the sins encountered there. Francesca tells Dante the story of how she was drawn into an illicit relationship with her silent lover Paolo, her husband’s brother. Like all sinners in the Inferno, Francesca puts the blame elsewhere. The pilgrim, who is himself more than a little inclined toward this sin, feels sorry for Francesca. But Dante the writer gives the reader a great many important clues to suggest that this is not the proper response to her narrative.