"His deceitful girts and fair words overcame

The young Hypsipyle there, who'd had the skill
To deceive the rest. He left her great with child,
Forlorn; and such guilt brings him torment in Hell"

(Canto XVIII, 185)

This passage describes Jason, who was a hero in Greek myth. He lead the Argonauts in the quest for the golden fleece. He was also, apparently, a player. He knocked up some strong willed/awesome chick and left her to have her baby on her own. "The young Hypsipyle there, who'd had the skill/To deceive the rest. He left her great with child,/Forlorn" First off... this is incredibly sexist. But thats not my point.
Dante is the example of courtly love. He loves a woman who he barely knows, idolizes her, even writes with her as his inspiration years after she dies. Even though he marries another woman, he still worships this flawless woman with the utmost respect. He does not impose on her in any way-- he even pretends to write poetry about another woman to hide/mask his love. Dante lives for this unrequited love, he idolizes it. It is his source of writing.
Perhaps this is why he writes so scathingly of Jason- the ultimate player. Jason's actions directly oppose the ideas of courtly love. Where Dante goes years without seeing his love, and loves her from a distance, Jason openly walks up and seduces a woman who he (apparently) does not love. Where Dante has no hope of getting anything physical from his love, and does not expect anything, Jason knocks up his chick thoughtlessly. Where Dante holds his love in the highest light, where Dante finds his love a sinless being, where Dante uses his love as a muse, as source for his writing and his fame, where Dante idolizes and respects his love, Jason discards his woman without a thought. Dante loves Beatrice in a profoundly deep way. Jason feels no love for Hypsipyle at all. He abuses her. He leaves her "forlorn." This is not the way Dante feels women should be treated at all judging by his background in Courtly love. He would find this treatment of Hypsipyle offensive to the idea of love. So what does he do? He sends Jason down to the eighth circle of hell and points him out. Don't do this, Dante says. I do not think this Cantos has anything to do with politics. It has everything to do with love.

"When I grew closer to the people grieved
By the flames falling on them, I did not find
any I recognized, but I perceived

Each had a purse hung around his neck--adorned
With certain colors and a certain device,
Which each of them with hungry eyes consumed."

(Canto XVII, 173)

This comment is shorter. It concerns the entire sequince with the Usurers. In the past, Dante has repeatedly felt horror and pity for those in hell. He always seems to empathize with indeviduals, at the least. However, at this point, he feels no pity for the usurers. He walks up, looks at them, listens to one of them, and walks away because he is afraid of Virgil. At no time does he think, "poor Usurers," or, "My heart filled with pity." I think that this might be a turning point for Dante as a character. However, I must admit that I have not looked through every other Cantos to see if he showed pity in all of them. If I do, and I hope I will, then I will edit this blog to include that information. Anyways, I think that this marks a transformation in Dante's character. Perhaps he is becoming acclimated to hell, perhaps he has become desensitized.
On the other hand, it is also possible that this is simply a reflection on the Usurer's themselves. They lack indeviduality in life, therefore they lack indeviduality in death. They are defined by their families and by their money in life and death. This is their sin, after all. Maybe Dante simply felt no pity for them in life, unlike everyone else in hell? Nevertheless, the way that they were approached was much more buisnesslike than in the past. Short, curt, to the point. Dante as a character is definatly no longer as wowed by punishment/criminals.