Francesca da Rimini is one of the most poignant and memorable characters in Dante Alighieri's 'The Divine Comedy,' specifically in the 'Inferno' section. In the epic poem, Francesca and her brother-in-law, Paolo Malatesta, are condemned to the second circle of Hell, reserved for sinners of lust, where they are punished for their adulterous love.

Dante encounters Francesca in Canto V of the 'Inferno', where she and Paolo are eternally swept along by an infernal whirlwind. During her meeting with Dante, Francesca recounts their tragic tale. She tells how she fell in love with Paolo while reading the story of Lancelot and Guinevere, a tale of love and betrayal. Their illicit affair was discovered by Francesca's husband, Gianciotto Malatesta, Paolo's brother, who then killed them both.

"Amor, que se apodera pronto de un corazón gentil, hizo que éste se prendara de aquel hermoso cuerpo que me fué arrebatado de un modo que aún me atormenta. Amor, que no dispensa de amar al que es amado, hizo que me entregara viva- mente al placer de que se embriagaba éste, que, como ves, no me abandona nunca. Amor nos condujo a la misma muerte. Caina espera al que nos arrancó la vida."

Caina is one of the four subregions of the ninth circle of Hell of Dante. This circle is the deepest and most severe part of Hell, reserved for traitors. Caina, named after Cain, the biblical figure who killed his brother Abel, is specifically designed to punish those who betrayed their family members.

Dante Alighieri, "La Divina Comedia", Canto 5, from the translation by Eduardo Gonzalez Lanuza, for the National University of Mexico, 1921.

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