• Arthur Morgan on a horse atop the Face Rock in Lemoyne. The setting sun gives him a halo.
    VII. The Inferno

    In a Dark Wood: Dante’s Inferno in RDR2, Part I

    Eden, in Red Dead Redemption 2, is the natural, unindustrialized world. However, the writers create a stark juxtaposition by using Dante’s Inferno — meaning “Hell” — to define and describe the Van der Linde gang’s journey through this Edenic world. No matter how beautiful their surroundings, their circumstances make their environments punishing. As Milton’s Satan says, “Which way I fly is hell; myself am hell” (IV.75). The gang brings their misery with them.

  • Arthur Morgan watching the sunset from the cliff edge at Horseshoe Overlook.
    II. Paradise Regained

    Stand Unshaken: The Inspiration Behind RDR2’s Mournful Prayer

    Paradise Lost is one of the most celebrated literary works of all time. Paradise Regained, John Milton's followup to the epic, is less so. The second poem tells the story of the Son (Christ) wandering in the desert, where, after 40 days and 40 nights, Satan accosts him and tries to tempt him to break his obedience to God. It is, quite frankly, not very interesting: there's no suspense at all. Satan losing is foregone conclusion. The Son is totally unbothered.

  • Arthur Morgan standing in Flatiron Lake. He looks back at Jack Marston, who stands on the shore. The photo is backlit and the light is misty and glowing.
    I. Paradise Lost

    Virgin Lands: RDR2’s Dream of Colonizing Eden

    Red Dead Redemption 2 mourns the loss of Eden: the outlaw life in pre-Industrial America. But under the brutal rule of colonialism, who is it who lost paradise? All articles on this site feature detailed discussion of literary allusions in Red Dead Redemption 2, and as such contain unmarked major and minor spoilers for the game, and occasionally the eventual fates of some characters in Red Dead Redemption. Read at your own risk. One of the cleverest things the developers did in Red Dead Redemption 2 was to make the technical limitations of Red Dead Redemption thematic. John can’t swim; Arthur can. John prints; Arthur writes. Arthur is more eloquent…

  • Arthur Morgan on a rose gray Andalusian horse walking on Bacchus Bridge. The bridge is broken and Arthur and the horse are walking towards the break. Across the bridge, the sun sets. We can see the Dakota River below them.
    I. Paradise Lost

    “Red Right Hand”: Arthur Morgan as a Christ Figure

    One of the ways Red Dead Redemption 2 often makes literary allusions is in prophetic statements from special NPCs. Blind Man Cassidy gives Arthur Morgan one that alludes to Paradise Lost and that appears, at first blush, to be about Dutch Van der Linde and Micah Bell: “Your father is seduced by the one with the forked tongue. It's no use hoping.” However, that isn't the truest reading of this prophecy. Dutch is also Satan/Eve (as we’ve seen, these characters combine in Dutch) to Hosea Matthews’s Adam. It's Hosea who is Arthur's truest father.