Dante and She Wolf In Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, the She-Wolf (la lupa) is the most terrifying of the three beasts that block Dante’s path as he attempts to climb the sunlit mountain in Canto I.

    Dante and She Wolf

In Dante Alighieri’s 

Inferno, the She-Wolf (la lupa) is the most terrifying of the three beasts that block Dante’s path as he attempts to climb the sunlit mountain in Canto I. 

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Symbolism and Meaning

Avarice and Greed: The She-Wolf primarily symbolizes insatiable greed (avarice). Dante describes her as being "starved" and "gaunt," yet "charged with gnawing cravings".

Incontinence: More broadly, she represents the sins of incontinence—sins of the flesh and lack of self-control—which occupy the upper circles of Hell.

Political Allegory: Some scholars interpret the wolf as a symbol of the Papal Curia or the corrupt Church of Dante's time, which he saw as driven by a thirst for worldly power and wealth. 

The Encounter in Canto I

The Confrontation: After encountering a leopard (lust/fraud) and a lion (pride/violence), Dante meets the She-Wolf. Her presence is so overwhelming that she causes him to lose all hope of reaching the summit.

The Retreat: Terrified, Dante is forced back into the "dark wood," where he eventually meets the spirit of the Roman poet Virgil, sent to guide him on a different path through Hell.

The Prophecy: Virgil tells Dante that the She-Wolf will continue to plague the world until a Greyhound (Veltro) arrives to hunt her down and restore virtue to Italy. 

The Prophecy of the Greyhound (Veltro)

When Dante is driven back by the 

She-Wolf

, Virgil offers a prophecy about a 

Greyhound

 that will eventually hunt the wolf through every city and drive her back to Hell. 

• Attributes: Unlike the beasts, the 
  Greyhound
   feeds not on land or money ("earth or pelf"), but on wisdom, love, and virtue.
• The "Feltro" Clue: Virgil says the 
  Greyhound
  ’s nation will be "between Feltro and Feltro" (tra feltro e feltro). This is one of the most debated lines in the Divine Comedy:
  • Geographical: It may refer to the territory between the towns of 
    Feltre
     and 
    Montefeltro
    , pointing to 
    Cangrande della Scala
    , a powerful lord of Verona and Dante's patron.
  • Material: "Felt" was a cheap cloth used by humble monks; it might signify a religious reformer or a "pauper" savior.
  • Political: It could represent the 
    Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII
    , whom Dante saw as the secular savior of Italy.
  • Spiritual: Some view it as a prophecy of the Second Coming of Christ or a future "Great Pope" who would purify the Church. 

Would you like to dive into the specific political landscape of 14th-century Italy to see why Dante was so obsessed with a "savior" figure, or explore the dark wood itself?