I just finished the Inferno, and even knowing what was coming I have to admit that when Dante realized he was walking on ice a cord was struck inside of me. Satan himself was anticlimatic, but the last circle's punishment, despite being rather mundane compared to some of the others, gave off a creepy horror like vibe. Well, too me at least.
This was the first time the Inferno got an emotional reaction out of me. (With the exception of the suicides... but that's still a fresh wound with pus and blood bitterly oozing out of my heart.) I didn't sympathize with any of the people in hell . Sure, I sympathized with Dante's sympathy for them but not them.
Basically, my point is that I started reading this not excepting to have any strong emotion response (once again the suicide marsh= exception). Yet, this last little bit- given it is the climax and as such is more likely to have an effect- made me shiver; the fact I wasn't expecting it made it that much worse.
Writing's purpose as an art form is to appeal to the emotions. I guess I underestimated Dante.
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