Dante and Existentialism

Many themes ideas from Dante’s Divine Comedies found their way into the existentialist movement of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. A large part of these common themes have to do with human freedom. Søren Kirkegaard, one of the first major forces in existentialism, hypothesized that we are all free and have the capacity to determine our own lives. Dante was an earlier proponent of this idea, most notably at the end of The Inferno, when he distinctly described the devil as being powerless and weak, thus putting the responsibility for human sin on the individual. The idea of an authentic existence was also very important to both Dante and the existentialists. Dante conveyed the need for authenticity when he depicted his former teacher, Brunetto Latini, who wrote his works to attain fame and recognition rather than seek truth or enlightenment. Existentialists believed the world was bleak, and personal choice was all we had to create a meaningful life. That is why existentialists taught that we should always question our choices and make sure we are being true to ourselves.

Kirkegaard

            In the 20^th century, the existential themes that developed more closely paralleled Dante’s Purgatorio, where souls must struggle to find direction and meaning. Jean-Paul Sartre described this struggle as “Vertigo”, where one gets overwhelmed by all of the possibilities before him. Dante’s purgatory is a place where there is no clear path to salvation, only a constant, exhausting trek up the mountain. The souls in Purgatory must find enlightenment for themselves, and the choices they make there will affect whether they get into heaven.

            Despite having so much in common, existentialism and Dante break away completely when it comes to spirituality. Existentialists believed that there is no god, or if there is, he has no interest in the concerns of the human world. They also believed that life on earth had no inherent meaning, and humans are taxed with the burden of creating their own meaning for life. Dante, however, was a devout Catholic. He believed that humans were on earth to carry out God’s will and unlike the existentialists, who believed there are no moral absolutes, Dante most certainly believed there was a right way and a wrong way to do things.  These differences are striking, but it’s clear that Dante faced the same issues as the later Existential thinkers, coming to some of the same conclusions. Both came to realize the importance of human choices, and how they affect our spirit. Dante had his own existential crisis, but he experienced it through the scope of his Christian faith.