Lustful. Lecherous. Lascivious. Libidinous. Licentious. All of these adjectives describe the souls sent to the second level of Hell. The sinners are the people who could not control their desires. They longed for the flesh and bodies of others. A great contrapasso was shown in Canto Five. These people were self indulgent and were whisked away by their passions. So now, they are constantly whipped around in a hurricane with no control.
The hellish hurricane is a storm that traps the souls who committed adultery, rape, or sin of a sexual nature. These people thought they were in control, but really, once they entered the afterlife, they had none. Minos is to judge the sins of the soul. He wraps his tail around the…show more content… Francesca tells Dante that her husband will reside in Level Nine, Caina. Caina is where the traitors to kin go. Gianciotto killed his brother and wife so he will face punishments in Caina. Francesca and Paolo’s story is contrapasso because Francesca committed adultery, and Paolo was a “traitor” to his brother.
Some other famous lovers who reside in Level Two are Dido, Cleopatra, Helen, Achilles, and Paris. Dido killed herself for love, betraying the ashes of her husband Sychaeus. Dido was lustful and broke the promise with her late husband, so her punishment is contrapasso because she could not control her urges and now has no control. In Canto V, Virgil says, “See Helen, for whose sake so many years of evil had to pass” (5.64-65). It was not Helen’s fault, as the goddess Aphrodite was the one who made Paris fall in love with Helen. However, Helen was the reason so many people died, and you could say she was lustful because she was married and should not have had anything to do with Paris.
To conclude, I believe that the contrapasso is evidently shown throughout the Canto. All of the lovers committed the sin of lust on Earth and they are punished appropriately. In Canto V, Dante says, “But tell me, in the time of gently sighs, with what and in what way did Love allow you to recognize your still uncertain longings?”
