# Swedenborg — The Inferno character guide

> Swedenborg in The Inferno by August Strindberg.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** VIII Swedenborg

**First appearance:** 0003-i-the-hand-of-the-invisible

## Who they are

The mystic whose hells mirror the narrator's own landscape — crater, pigsty, ravine — convincing him that earth itself is the dungeon of the damned.

## In the story

### [The Inferno](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inferno_se/chapters/the-inferno)

Referenced as a spiritual authority whose visions of hell parallel the narrator's experiences.

### [V: Purgatory](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inferno_se/chapters/v-purgatory)

Enters the narrator's life on the anniversary of his death, becoming a judge and master through Séraphita.

### [VI: Hell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inferno_se/chapters/vi-hell)

Swedenborg is identified as the narrator's 'teacher' in the context of the myth of Bhrign, linking the narrator's punishment to his pride.

### [VII: Beatrice](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inferno_se/chapters/vii-beatrice)

Referenced for his teaching that love for a child is sexless and heavenly, and as a figure sent to re-baptise France.

### [VIII: Swedenborg](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inferno_se/chapters/viii-swedenborg)

His writings describe hell as earthly life, directly influencing the narrator's worldview.

### [XII: Pilgrimage and Penance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inferno_se/chapters/xii-pilgrimage-and-penance)

His works are borrowed and provide deliverance.

### [XIII: The Deliverer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inferno_se/chapters/xiii-the-deliverer)

The prophet whose writings on spiritual catharsis, corrective spirits, and the correspondence of symptoms provide the key to understanding Strindberg's experiences.

### [XIV: Tribulations](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inferno_se/chapters/xiv-tribulations)

Explained the true character of the narrator's terrors and pointed the way to salvation through repentance.

### [Whither?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inferno_se/chapters/xv-whither)

Cited as teaching that it is unlawful to quit the religion of one's ancestors, influencing the narrator's view of Protestantism.

### [Epilogue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inferno_se/chapters/epilogue)

Mentioned in connection with reforming spirits and guardian angels.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inferno_se/chapters/endnotes)

Mentioned in the note explaining a stage in the religious life according to Swedenborg.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inferno_se/characters/swedenborg
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inferno_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inferno_se/characters