“I wept not, so within I’s turned to stone”
. . . . .
Canto XXXIII opens with the sinner's tale. He was Count Ugolino, and the soul he feeds upon was Archbishop Ruggieri, on whom he trusted. Ruggieri imprisoned Ugolino and his four sons in a tower, nailed the doors shut, and starved them all to death. Ugolino is forced to watch his young boys starve one by one. And his hatred for Ruggieri increases with each of his son's death. Once through with his long and passionate tale, Ugolino goes back to feeding on Ruggieri. Dante discovers two sinners that were so treacherous to guests that they immediately were thrown out of their bodies and into Hell, and a demon was sent to inhabit their bodies on Earth. This action is contrary to Dante's idea of penitence to achieve Grace — these sinners did not have a chance to give penance, though it is apparent that Dante felt that this sin was bad enough to warrant immediate damnation. The fourth and final round of the ninth circle, Judecca, is illustrated in the final canto. It is named after Judas Iscariot, who betrayed his lord and master, Jesus Christ. Ugolino's punishment is the concept of retaliation. This is a masterful stroke on Dante's part, for in the very depths of Hell, how else can Dante evoke pity for someone whose crime is as monstrous as was Ugolino's? Note, therefore, that Ugolino is here in Hell as a traitor because he betrayed his own party to Ruggieri, but also, that he is here in the poem as the betrayed. Ugolino may be said to be both the victim of divine justice and also the instrument of it, in that he also punishes his betrayer, Ruggieri. The law of retribution is the most powerful: In life Ruggieri starved Ugolino; in Hell, Ruggieri becomes food for his victim.