Dante (Regaining the True Path)
When Barriss Offee is brought to the Fortress Inquisitorius in "Devotion" (Tales of the Empire 1.4), she must compete against another young ex-Jedi named Dante to secure her place in the Inquisitors' ranks. The name "Dante" evokes the most famous Dante in the western classical tradition, Dante Alighieri, who wrote the three-part epic poem The Divine Comedy. Dante's name is a clue to a Dantean motif that runs through the three Barriss-centric episodes of Tales of the Empire: those who have strayed from the true path need a guide to show them that they must descend before they can ascend.
The Divine Comedy begins with Dante the character, a fictionalized stand-in for the poet, lost in a dark wilderness because he has "wandered from the straight and true." He is saved by the appearance of the ancient Roman poet Virgil, who acts as his guide. Virgil shows Dante that he must descend into hell before he can ascend to heaven.
"Devotion," the first Barriss-centric episode of Tales of the Empire, begins with Barriss having wandered from the true path. After turning against the Jedi near the end of the Clone Wars, she has been imprisoned in a cell on Coruscant. She is saved by the appearance of the Inquisitor Lyn, who acts as her guide, offering her a path out of jail – a path that leads down into the hellish underwater lair of the Inquisitors. It is telling that Barriss must kill Dante, throwing him down a dark pit, if she is to "ascend" to the rank of Inquisitor. This is a dark parody of the Comedy: Lyn is not guiding Barriss to the true path.
By the beginning of the third Barriss-centric episode, "The Way Out" (Tales of the Empire 1.6), Barriss has turned against the Inquisitors and become a Jedi again. She has found her way back to the true path, which means that she and Lyn have switched roles: now Barriss is Virgil, the guide, and Lyn is Dante, the follower. Lyn brought Barriss down into the underworld; now Barriss directs Lyn down into an icy cave, which recalls the ninth level of Dante's Inferno, the last part of hell through which Dante and Virgil must pass before they can begin to ascend. By passing through the ice cave, guided by Barriss, Lyn finds her way back to the true path of the Jedi.
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Characters: Barriss Offee / Lyn
Shows: Tales of the Empire
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Concepts: ascent and descent / caves / ice / names / underworld
Influences: Dante
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