Divine Comedy: Purgatory

The Purgatory, or its original Italian name Purgatario, is the second part of Dante's Divine Comedy as the sequal to Inferno and the prequel to Paradise. After his journey through the Inferno with his guide, the ancient Roman poet Virgil, Dante's new destination is the Purgatory. In the Christian doctrine and belief, the Purgatory is the place in which sinners are given the chance to redeem, cleanse, or purge themselves of their sins before they ascend to Heaven, or Paradise. In a sense, the Purgatory is a place of inbetweenness. It is neither Hell (Inferno) or Heaven (Paradise). This aspect of this inbetweenness may considered to be similar to the place known as Limbo. However, the main difference between them is while Limbo is a place of neutrality, devoid of sins, good deeds, and morality, the Purgatory is a stage of testing one's will to reach Paradise.

Unlike Inferno which is a spiral leading downwards, the Purgatory is a mountain which one should climb to reach salvation. According to Dante's narration, the Purgatory can be seen as a reflection of the peninent or ideal Christian life. While climbing, Dante discusses many things about sins, morality, ethics, politics, the church, vice, and virtues. He states that the source of all sins is love, either in abundance or in deficience. The Purgatory, which is located above Infero consists mainly of three parts, from bottom up these are: Ante-Purgatory, Purgatory Proper, and lastly The Earthly Paradise.

Dante's journey in the Purgatory begins in the Ante-Purgatory, which is the entrance or the first level. It is actually similar to Inferno's entrance in the sense that in here, people who have recently died and are still in some connection to earthly things reside. Mainly, these people are either those who have found Christianity later on in their life and those who have been excommunicated. Each indiviudal here must wait here for some time based on their earthly deeds and lives, however, this time can be shortened with the prayers of those on earth. In here, Dante and Virgil learn about the Rule of the Mountain. This rule indicates that after sunset, no one is allowed to move further along the mountain. This is to symbolize that redemption and salvation can be achieved only with God's will, which is symbolized with the shining sun. As the night approaches, everybody stops in their tracks. Dante gets the chance to speak with political figures who neglected their spiritual side due to their heavy duties such as Henry III here. They spend the night by talking and singing hymns until Dante falls asleep. He dreams that a golden eagle picks him up and flies away with him.

Upon waking up from his dream Dante finds himself in front of the Purgatory Proper. Here, there are three different steps, each standing in place for the tripartite Sacrament of Penance. The first of these stairs is white, symbolizing purity and penitence. The second step is as black as the night, with a crack in the shape of the Christian cross, representing sorrow and mourning. Last of these steps is crimson red, representing the blood of Christ, burning love, and restoration of life. At the end of these steps is the Gate of Purgatory, also known as Peter's Gate. An angel with a sword in hand guides this gate. Dante and Virgil tell the angel that they have been sent here by Saint Lucia. After climbing the steps and asking the angel for permission to enter the gates, the angel uses their sword to draw the letter 'P' seven times on Dante's forehead which comes from the latin word peccatum (sin), representing the seven deadly sins of Christanity. Now, Dante must pass through the seven terraces of Purgatory, erasing each sin on his forehead with each passage between these terraces.

Unlike the Inferno, in which punishment is based on action, the Purgatory is shaped by the forces or motivations leading to sin and not the actual sin itself. For this reason, the first three terraces that consist of the sins pride, envy, and wrath are shaped by perverted love, aimed towards the harm of others. The opposite of these sins, virtues, also exists here to show sinners how to purge themselves of the said sins along with examples of those who have been able to act upon these virtues, but especially the Virgin Mary. For pride, this virtue would be humility. Envy is absolved by generosity. And lastly, wrath is absolved by meekness. The next and fourth terrace is sloth, which is formed by deficient love or an absence of love. This sin would be absolved by zeal. Here, Dante dreams once more. In his dream, he sees a Siren, a classical mythological figure representing the last three terraces of avarice, gluttony, and lust which are results of an excessive and twisted form of love. These sins, are absolved by moderation, temperance, and lastly chastity. After purging all the seven deadly sins, their journey now takes them to the last part of Purgatory, the Earthly Paradise.

The Earthly Paradise, or the Garden of Eden is the state of innocence before the fall of Adam and Eve, resulting from the first and original sin. Here, he meets a woman named Matilda, who will prepare him for his meeting with Beatrice, who Dante dedicates his poetry, journey, and love to. Each element Dante encounters in this plane is a reflection of something else in Christianity rather than what they seem to be. From this point on, Virgil will no longer be Dante's guide as he is his guide within the confines of the human reason. However, after reaching the Earthly Paradise, Dante rises above the cognition of human mind. For this reason, Beatrice takes over the role of the guide as the representant of divine grace. As Dante bids farewell to Virgil, Beatrice starts preparing him for the next part of his journey. Firstly, she asks Dante to confess how he has strayed from the path of virtue. After confessing, Dante bathes in the waters of the river Lethe, which causes him to forget everything regarding past sins. Lastly, he drinks from the waters of the river Eunoe, which restores his memories of all the good things. The second part closes here as Dante is now ready to ascend to Paradise and the last part of his poem.

Bibliography

Wikipedia

Encylopedia Britannica

Dante, The Divine Comedy

Images

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