Up a Tree

In the second round of the seventh circle of Dante’s Inferno those who have been violent against themselves are punished. When Dante and Virgil reach this round they enter a forest of black and gnarled trees. The sounds of people suffering can be heard but not seen. That is because their bodies have been transformed into these twisted trees. Dante used trees because they symbolizes unity, knowledge, and wisdom which is relatable to the sinners.
The most commonly known symbolic tree is the tree of knowledge from the garden of Eden. Similar to Adam and Eve who where disconnected from God after the expulsion from Eden because of the tree, the sinners are separated from God for eternity because they went against his will on Earth. Pier della Vigna one of the tree-souls tries to defend his decision to kill himself, “I swear to you that never in word or spirit did I break faith to my lord and emperor.” (XIII, 73-74) Vigna lacks the wisdom to see that it is not his loyalty to the government but to God that is most important. He is still concerned with life on earth most likely because he left before he was meant to leave.
Another symbol that a tree exhibits is unity, with others and God. There is a sense of irony in this because the sinners chose to separate themselves from God by committing suicide. They rejected their own bodies by going against God’s will. Within this realm Pier della Vigna is one of the tree-souls and confess to how rumors lead him to feel alone. Instead of looking towards God he gave up and took away his life. Vigna explains, “Then, unjustly blamed, my soul, in scorn, and thinking to be free of scorn in death, made me at last, through just, unjust to myself.” (XIII, 69-72) Vigna, as well as the other people, isolated themselves from God and others making their lives as twisted as the trees branches. They were driven to kill themselves because they were not living in peace and unity like the tree represents.
Trees have very extensive life spans on earth and are sometimes perceived as immortal. This is similar to how humans were given the gift of eternity from God. Although, the sinners in round 2 of circle seven are denied the gift of immortality because they rejected their bodies on earth by killing themselves. The sinners decision to abandon their bodies will stay with the for eternity. One of the unknown tree-souls tells Dante of how his unforgiving mistake on earth will never be forgotten. “Like the rest, we shall go for our husks on Judgement Day. But not that we may wear them, for it is not just that a man be given what he throws away...Our bodies will dangle to the end of time.” (XIII, 103-107) Unfortunately, for those who committed suicide and gave up their bodies will never have them returned.