Abstract
The relevance of the Commedia today is striking. Many of the issues found in Dante's poem still haunt us. The she-wolf is still at large in our world. A century has ended and a new one begun, and we are still searching for reason and balance, still struggling to attain harmony and fratellanza. In our effort to achieve rational conduct, a reading of Dante's poem within the context of deep ecology can provide an alternate lens through which to view the poem. Insofar as deep ecology offers the foundation for social change, it is attuned to Dante's goal of transforming individuals and society. Dante applied the Franciscan ideal to his political theory, prescribing fratellanza as the antidote to the societal disharmony he saw around him. We see this application in the Commedia in a four-stage progression of the Franciscan ideal: exemplified by Francis on earth, prefigured in the Garden before the fall, fully realized in the Celestial Rose-garden, and yet to be attained on earth.
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