1. The challenge of overpopulation:

The main theme of the novel is to control the rapidly increasing population. Geneticist Bertrand Zobrist argues that many of the world’s problems, such as resource scarcity and environmental degradation, stem from overpopulation. He wants to limit the population through inserting sterilty through the virus he invented. However, Sinskey and others do not view the issue in the same way and consider Zobrist’s call to limit population as insane and criminal.

As Sienna is a staunch supporter of Zobrist, she poses a thought-provoking question to Langdon, asking if he would be willing to sacrifice half the population to save humanity from extinction. Langdon finds it uncomfortable and is unable to provide a definitive answer.

Langdon and the others fear that Zobrist has created a virus akin to the Black Death, which would result in the deaths of a significant portion of the population. Langdon is haunted by images of plague doctors and masks as he searches for Zobrist’s pathogen. The narrator vividly describes the devastating consequences of the Black Death, with bodies piling up in the streets due to the inability to conduct burials promptly. While sorrow, mourning, and grief prevailed, the world eventually experienced a period of rebuilding and prosperity after the plague.

Upon discovering that the pathogen has already been unleashed, Sienna explains to Langdon that Zobrist’s creation was a vector virus intended to render one-third of the population infertile. This virus would be passed down through generations, serving as a permanent method of population control. Sienna tells Langdon that Zobrist considered “Inferno” to be an elegant and humane solution to the problem, as it would gradually reduce the population by decreasing the number of births.

2. Denial as a Means of Exit:

Both Zobrist and Sienna, in different instances throughout the novel, argue that humans tend to deny problems they don’t want to confront, and population control is one such issue that is frequently denied. Zobrist draws a comparison between a person’s denial of a problem and Dante’s deepest ring of hell, where those who refused to take a stand in times of moral crisis were sent. According to Zobrist, the problem of population control has reached a moral crisis point, and he is frustrated by Sinskey’s refusal to take a stand.

When Sienna initially suggests to Langdon that the world is in denial about population control, Langdon recalls a Web-tracking study that revealed even highly educated individuals had a tendency to ignore stressful situations or circumstances. The study found that even students in prestigious Ivy League colleges would briefly click on depressing news stories but quickly shift their attention to something more trivial.

Zobrist’s main disagreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) lies in his belief that the organization’s officials are in denial about the realities of overpopulation. Instead of addressing the core issue, Zobrist perceives them as focusing on alternative fuel sources and recycling. He questions Sinskey why she fails to see the obvious. When Sinskey dismisses Zobrist as mad, he retorts, “Madness is the WHO staring into the abyss and denying it is there”.

3. Appearance Manipulation:

Many characters in this novel rely on manipulating appearances to achieve their objectives. The reader discovers that much of the initial events, where Langdon believed he was being pursued and targeted for assassination, were orchestrated to create a sense of danger. Other characters in the story also conceal their true intentions as they seek to locate Zobrist’s virus for their own purposes.

It is not surprising that the provost and his associates excel at manipulating appearances, considering that even their ship, The Mendacium, is named after a god associated with falsehoods, lies, and fabrications. The provost is hired by Zobrist to help him disappear while he works on developing a virus to control the population.

Sienna is another character who alters her appearance to achieve her goals. She presents herself to Langdon as a doctor who happens to have some knowledge about Zobrist’s ideas, conveniently leaving out the fact that she is Zobrist’s lover and one of his main followers.

Langdon becomes a victim of the provost’s manipulated realities. With the assistance of his employees, the provost creates a scenario where Langdon believes he is being pursued by a woman who wants to kill him. Langdon witnesses this woman shooting a doctor in the hospital where he is recovering from what he believed to be a gunshot wound. He believes that Sinskey is being held captive by men in black vans and that these individuals are also attempting to abduct him. When Sinskey and the provost reveal the truth to Langdon, he is shocked by the extent to which the provost went to prevent him from collaborating with the WHO. Langdon is surprised by the authenticity of the experiences that were fabricated. It is the provost who informs Langdon that one cannot always trust what they see. “That’s what you saw,” the provost calmly states, “but that’s not what happened.”

4. Dante’s The Divine Comedy:

Zobrist draws inspiration from the depictions of hell in Dante’s Inferno to fuel his motivation in creating a virus to control the global population. He utilizes artistic images created by other artists to illustrate the potential future of Earth if population control is not addressed. Additionally, Zobrist incorporates clues from Dante’s writings and life to guide Langdon and Sinskey towards the virus, which he names Inferno as a tribute to Dante.

One of the tools Zobrist employs is a modified painting by Sandro Botticelli that portrays the torments of hell as described in Dante’s The Divine Comedy. Zobrist warns Sinskey that if nothing is done, the depicted conditions in the painting will become a reality for humanity. Furthermore, Zobrist organizes a week-long concert featuring the Dante Symphony to lure as many people as possible into the city cistern, exposing them to his virus.

Zobrist strategically embeds clues related to Dante and Inferno to guide Sinskey in discovering the virus’s location. Langdon, being well-versed in The Divine Comedy, proves adept at deciphering these clues. For instance, Langdon quickly realizes that the levels of hell depicted in Botticelli’s Map of Hell are in the incorrect order. By reordering these levels, Langdon unveils the true message Zobrist intends to convey. Another set of clues is inscribed on the reverse side of Dante’s death mask. Notably, Zobrist employs a similar style to Dante’s and arranges the clues into a nine-part sequence, as the number nine held significance in Dante’s writings, such as the nine levels of hell, purgatory, and paradise.

Moreover, Zobrist’s life mirrors Dante’s in various ways. Like Dante’s love for Florence, Zobrist chooses to reside in Florence while working on his clandestine project. Both individuals face exile due to their association with unpopular ideas or political factions. They also share a common aspiration of eventually being accepted and praised by the very communities that had treated them poorly.

INTRODUCTION CURIOSITY & SUSPENSE PLOT SUMMARY

CRITICAL OVERVIEW IMPORTANT CHARACTERS CLIFFHANGERS IN NOVEL

DESCRIPTIONS OF OBJECTS, PLACES, ORGANIZATIONS & PROCESSES MOVIE ADAPTATION