Fate in Dante’s Inferno and the Aeneid
Fate and freewill are common themes of literature and are one of the major themes in Inferno and the Aeneid. Fate and freewill sound contradicting but they complement each other in these two stories. Both Inferno by Dante and the Aeneid by Virgil use fate and freewill to connect the living world with the spiritual world by using the theme to justify the plot of their works, progress the storyline, and how fate determines the outcome of events in both. God and deities are one driving force that helps determine fate. For example, God is what determines an individual’s fate in life in Inferno while in the Aeneid the Gods and speed up your fate or try and slow it down. In order to have a good outcome in life and in the afterlife people need to please their God. Individuals have a say in their fate and they have the free will to determine to live up to their current fate or try and determine a new fate for them.
