Throughout the poem, there are two Dantes: Dante the Poet is a stern, moralistic individual who acts as the supreme judge and decides who belongs in Hell and, like Minos the monster judge, decides which circle of Hell each sinner belongs in. This Dante is unswerving in his judgment. He can find little extenuating circumstances, and the sinner is judged by the strictest and harshest standards.
For example, Dante the Poet lived in the household of the nephew of Francesca da Rimini, and he knew how she was betrayed in her marriage — how she was led to believe that her marriage was to be with the handsome and debonair young Paolo, but after her marriage, she discovered she was married to the deformed older brother. Her adultery was not a deliberate contrived matter; it was instead a gentle lapsing of the will; Yet, Dante the Poet places her in Hell. But Dante the Pilgrim swoons and faints when he hears her story in Hell.
Dante the Pilgrim is a man who has, himself, been lost in a dark wood, and he is sympathetic to others who have strayed from the right path. When he finds himself lost in the dark wood, he is terribly frightened, and when Virgil arrives, Dante the Pilgrim is at first apprehensive, cautious, and frightened until he is reassured of Virgil's noble intentions.
As they begin their journey, Dante shows all of the concern for the condemned that any humane, sympathetic person would show when confronted with the sufferings of the sinners. However, during his journey through Hell, Dante changes significantly as a pilgrim.
