OVERVIEW

Alessandro Andreini is a Professor of Religious Studies at Gonzaga University. He studies spiritualty, theology, the second Vatican council, and is affiliated with the Gonzaga in Florence program.

Questions for Reflection

• How do we see fraud in action in this canto? What do these words from Ciampolo reveal to us about the nature of fraud: “I must indeed be cunning if I procure still greater anguish for my friends” (22.110-111)?
• How do we see acts of fraud disrupt social order and community, even among the demonic Malebranche?
• According to Robin Kirkpatrick, these cantos among the Malebranche blend violence with farce. What do you think Dante is trying to achieve by intermingling these two tones together? Is this simply an experiment in language or might the very poetic experimentation reveal something of Dante’s understanding of the exercise of fraud in human society?