Genre. Brown’s Inferno blends three popular genres—suspense, mystery, and
detective fiction--with a solid dose of travel writing. (Interestingly, the publisher also lists
the book’s genres as “fact fiction,” conspiracy fiction, and thriller.) The mysterydetective fiction format is updated with contemporary techniques to solve several Danterelated codes. For example, after Langdon opens what appears to be a small biohazard
container, he finds a miniature medieval bone cylinder outfitted with a high-tech laser
projector. When the projector is illuminated, a modified version of Botticelli’s Map is
displayed. This Map of Hell (also known as The Abyss of Hell) is one of the earliest
representations of Dante’s highly visual representation of hell. Additional clues—and
recollections of lectures he has given at Harvard and to the Dante Society--help
Langdon realize that the traditional Map of Hell has been digitally modified. In addition,
the letters CATROVACER have been added to each ditch of the Malebolge, Dante’s
eighth circle of hell. (This eighth circle, with ten different ditches for the categories of
those who have committed the sin of fraud, plays an important role in Brown’s work.)
But because the map has been altered, the letters really spell CERCA TROVA (“seek
and find”). This revelation propels Langdon and his Mensa-talented doctor assistant to
search for a painting in the Vasari Corridor, an above-ground walkway linking two major
palaces in Florence. So the Dante-linked codes and clues, the use of technology, and
the travel-guide approach to Florence’s art and architecture catapult Langdon and Dr.
Sienna Brooks into an intense “cat and mouse” chase through Florence’s famous
Palazzo Vecchio.
Dante Connections. Brown does not try to follow the order and path of Inferno
from Canto I to Canto XXXIV. Instead, Parker and Parker contend that Inferno provides
a “conceptual model for the central action of the novel” (177). References to Dante, his
poems (primarily Inferno), classical works inspired by the author, and influences by
Dante are integrated throughout Brown’s novel. Some references are instructional or
explanatory: (1) a review of Dante’s life and background from a student lecture;; (2) a
lecture for the Viennese Dante Society incorporating the poet’s influence on Italian
artists Michaelangelo, Botticelli, and Dore; and (3) quotations attributed to him or from
verses in Inferno. Early in Brown’s novel, Langdon reminisces about the close ties
between Dante and Florence, simultaneously reflecting on Florence’s architecture and
the 10 ditches of the poet’s Malebolge. Langdon provides an elementary review of
Dante’s life, his portraits by various artists (some quite soon after his death), and a
summary of the contributions the great author made to art, literature, and culture. While
the purpose of this instruction is to inform the members of a learned society about
Dante, we have to suspend disbelief that such academics would not know the basics
about Dante. However, Langdon’s comments are essential to help us, as readers, know
what we should know (but never knew or remembered, at least in the detail required for
the plot) about the immortal poet, including the role of his guide, Virgil, the eighth circle
of hell, and the three-headed Satan’s consumption of three people in the 9th circle of
hell.
Langdon’s remembered lectures or presentations are essential to understanding
the Dante-related clues and references that are incorporated throughout the novel.
Some of these references include:
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