#i could also go into the irony of how heavily catholic both the alex stern series and the grishaverse are

[thegaycondor]

this is the ask about ninth house and dantes inferno, from someone who loves both and woud love to hear the theories!

i feel like this is less theories and more analysis of textual influence. while we don't get the one to one journey into hell comparison there is a lot of things that perk my interest as a little literary goblin. truly truly there's way to much for me to get into all the little things that i think have a connection to dante, but i will get into some of the basic characteristics of hell and how they are mimicked in hellbent, along with the more direct literary references. however if you want another post about other parts(the leopard, lion and she-wolf characteristics being able to be transplanted onto alex,, the call into hell/darlington & beatrice comparisons,, the roles of virgil and dante,, etc.) , i will do it.

ok, brace your self for a far too short analysis

the most glaring reference we get to dante's inferno is bardugo labeling part 2 "the descent"[242] directly after dante's canto 2. not to mention the titles of lethe themselves being derived from the story. i cannot find it but i believe someone in either hellbent or ninth house say "abandon all hope ye who enter here" (if anyone can find where this is said i would be eternally grateful). ok so, it's known that leigh took some inspiration from dante, but let's get into how she characterizes hell in comparison to dante's version.

the beginning of canto 1 and chapter 27 start very similar. in dante's inferno(working from John Ciardi's translation), we start alone in a "dark wood" which is is "so rank, so arduous" that "it's very memory gives a shape to fear" [1.3-7], with a dawn sky over head. in hellbent we start in a similar state. alex finds herself alone, in an orchard, feeling afraid, confused, and lost. specifically the journey was supposed to cause fear, just as the forest for the lost souls in the first canto.

then just as the group find the hope of getting darlington, they are attacked by wolves. while wolves and dogs make multiple appearances in the inferno, the most notable is the she-wolf seen in that first canto, right before virgil comes in. if this is a one to one comparison(not suggesting it should be), than these wolves are the counterpart to the leopard, lion, and she-wolf. they represent the sins committed by the group, while also preventing them from bringing their and darlingtons soul to safety, or salvation.

i could go into more details about other things that come to fortition when looking at hellbent through the lens of dante's inferno. i would love to talk about alex and the wolves in the inferno, but i could fully write a 10 page paper on it if i wanted to. honestly if you already like/own/have read the inferno, i just recommend reading the two books in tandem to each other. it's fascinating.