Thinking about this piece I drew back in April/May of the most tender moment in Inferno 9. Virgil and Dante still barely know each other at this stage in the journey, so when they run into their first real conflict at the gates to the City of Dis, their dynamic is tested (this is the subject of the first comic I posted here, also about Inferno IX.
The moment when Virgil protects Dante from the threat of Medusa is tense because it is unclear whether or not the will of God is absolute. Is Dante’s journey to the top of Paradiso fated, or will he be forced to turn back like Orpheus, or worse, be trapped there forever in the mire of acedia in which he started?
Regardless of the significance of Medusa, Virgil doesn’t yet trust Dante to protect himself in the hostile world of Inferno. This is what makes the moment where he not only spins him around and tells him to cover his eyes, but THEN places his hands over Dante’s to make triply sure, so loving.
Mandelbaum translation from Digital Dante
Dante and the Gorgon Within—Margaret Nossel Mansfield
Epic Tradition and Inferno IX—David Quint
Dante outfit reference from the painting Dante presenta Giotto a Guido da Polenta—Giovanni Mochi
