Book Review: Divine Comedy: Purgatory

The second book in Dante's epic poem of the Divine Comedy is Purgatorio, which translates to Purgatory. The characters of Dante and his guide Virgil have traveled thru the earth's core of inferno and now approach the next phase of the afterlife. They travel up a mountain, known as Mount Purgatory, and just as there were levels in Inferno, there are levels on the mountain. Each of the tiers pertain to sin, suffering, and spiritual growth. Obviously the higher tiers on the mountain reach closer to heaven, known as Paradiso. Dante eventually reaches a point towards the top of the mountain where his guide Virgil can go no further. At this point he is guided by his past love Beatrice, who represents the total embodiment of love. 

I remember early on as a young Christian understanding that heaven was good and hell was bad, yet wasn't really aware of this middle area known as Purgatory till much later. Purgatory is broadly defined as the intermediate state of the afterlife. I see it as the domain for souls seeking purification with the obvious goal to reach the heavenly domain. So in essence those who are sent to purgatory are not evil yet are also not fully righteous. According to Dante it is a domain where dead souls seek to be righteous with upward mobility and that in itself is an optimistic thing. (Unlike the eternal damnation of the Inferno). 

So in theory purgatory is almost like a cleansing room where souls are cleaned of their wicked ways. In a way, one could almost associate our lives here on earth as a form of purgatory. We are all sinners seeking righteousness, faced with constant trials and tribulations of life. However according to Dante, it is our actions while living on earth that define where exactly we are placed in the afterlife among the tiers of hell, purgatory, and heaven. This is of course in accordance with the Christian teachings, yet I believe still a concept that most religions share. 

I found Dante's Purgatorio to be a little more difficult to comprehend than the Inferno, so I'm going to attempt to further analyze it here. The general premise is that Dante and Virgil are ascending a mountain on an island with tiers. Just like there were 10 rings in hell, there are 10 rings associated to this purgatory. The first two being the bottom ground "pre-purgatory" tiers like a lobby quite similar to the Vestibule of Hell. The next 7 levels on the mountain are once again associated with the 7 deadly sins, however unlike the damned souls of Inferno these souls are seeking purification from their sins. Souls are able to climb upwards while the sun (representing God) is in the sky, yet not at night. At the top of the mountain is the Earthly Paradise known as the Garden of Eden, which serves as a gate into heaven. 

Dante's Purgatorio

After Dante and Virgil clear the underground core of Inferno they ascend upwards until they reach the island of Mount Purgatory. At the shores of the mountain they are first welcomed by the pagan Roman senator, Cato. They then are escorted by an angel on a boat across the sea and thru the Pillars of Hercules, until they reach the foot of the mountain. At the bottom of the mountain are two forms of souls, those who were excommunicated and those who sought forgiveness late in their lives. So essentially the excommunicate was a righteous soul who was later damned, while vice versa the late repentance was a damned soul who later sought righteousness. According to Dante, depending on their sins these two categories are not in Inferno, yet also not on the Mountain of Purgatory.

At the foot of the mountain they approach a gate, known as Peter's Gate, guarded by an angel with a blinding sword. With the sword he inscribes 7 P's on Dante's forehead (which is the Latin word "peccatum" meaning sin). The angel then grants them entrance thru his two keys of remorse and reconciliation. He also warns Dante not to look back as they ascend the tiers. The 7 tiers represent the 7 deadly sins as misdirected love. The first three sins of pride, envy, and wrath are misguided love towards others, sloth is a lack there of love, while avarice, gluttony, and lost is excessive love on oneself. Each of these sinners finds their purification thru the contrasting 7 virtues of humility, kindness, patience, diligence, charity, temperance, and chastity. 

The first level is that of the prideful who seek purification thru humility. In doing so they carry large boulders on their back across the terrace. Dante and Virgil eventually meet the angel of humility who wipes the first P from Dante's forehead and grants them access to the 2nd tier. Virgil explains to Dante that as they get higher they become less encumbered and the climbing gets easier. The 2nd tier is that of the envious whose eyes are sewn shut. However in seeking their purification they share stories of generosity. Once again Dante and Virgil encounter another blinding angel who removes the P and grants them access to the 3rd level. Virgil explains to Dante that as they get higher he will soon be able to see the angels.

In the 3rd level is for the wrathful who walk around the terrace thru a thick unpleasant smoke. However in contrast to their sins they perform acts of meekness and compassion. Once again Dante cannot see the angel of peace however another P is removed from his forehead. In the 4th tier they encounter the slothful/careless souls who are now engaged in diligent/busy activity. At night Dante dreams of a Siren who embodies the sins of self-love (greed, gluttony, and lust). They are then granted entrance to the fifth tier by the Angel of Zeal. On the fifth tier is for the avaricious, those who were greedy in abundance and ambition. To seek their purification these souls lie face down on the ground reciting prayers. At this stage on their journey Dante feels an earthquake, in which the poet Statius explains as the occurrence when a soul reaches heaven. 

At this level of the mountain, Virgil's guidance is replaced by the Christian convert Statius who is more experienced with the rules of purgatory. Statius is a big fan of Virgil's Aeneid and the two share friendly conversation throughout their journey in the higher tiers. The three poets then meet the Angel of Moderation who once again removes a P from Dante's forehead and grants them entry to the 6th tier. This tier is for the gluttonous who face their purification by starving themselves in the midst of abundant fruit trees. When they encounter the Angel of Temperance who removes the P, it is no longer a blinding light yet rather a reddish glow.   

The 7th terrace is for the lustful who must pass thru a wall of flame and give praise to chastity and fidelity. Dante is afraid to pass thru this flame yet is told that the love of his life, Beatrice is awaiting on the other side. He then passes thru the flame and encounters the Angel of Chastity who removes Dante's final P.  At this point Dante must say goodbye to his beloved guide Virgil who did not embody the righteousness required for the next domain. Dante then enters into the Garden of Eden where he is welcomed by a woman named Maltida who prepares him for his entry into the heavenly domain known as Paradiso. 

At this point Dante sees a symbolic procession within the Garden of Eden. This consists of 24 elders that represent the 24 books of the bible; four animals with wings that represent the 4 evangelists; a chariot ridden by Beatrice pulled by a griffin; three women encircling the chariot that represent love, hope, and faith; four other women who represent the four virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude; two more elders that represent the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles; four humble people that represent the remaining epistles; and a lonely old man that represents the Book of Revelations. 

After the procession is complete, Dante finally comes face to face with the majestic and angelic Beatrice. This is a personal reference for the author, who considered this woman in his life to be the embodiment of love.  In the garden, Beatrice shows Dante to the River Lethe which erases all memory of his past sins and to the River Eunoe which restores all his good memories. At this point Dante's soul has been completely purified. He is then ready to enter the final domain in the sky, Paradiso, where the angels and righteous souls dwell. 

Dante's Levels of Purgatory

Just like as in Inferno, there are 10 total tiers in Purgatory. Once again I really enjoy this concept of tiers in the afterlife, because not every sin or virtue should be judged equally. In this domain Dante once again establishes an outer lobby or vestibule, this time known as the Ante-Purgatory. These souls have not yet been permitted to begin their upward ascension. Then begins the upward climb of the 7 deadly sins. This ascension is a patient journey of purification with the total goal being to acheive the bliss of paradise. What's especially interesting is how the higher the soul gets the easier their burden is. Also the higher they get the more clearly they can see beyond the illumination of the angels. The final and top tier of purgatory is the Garden of Eden, which serves as the entrance into Paradise. 

• 
  Ante-Purgatory
• Excommunicated: Those expelled from the church
• Late Repentance: Those asking for forgiveness and faith at a latter stage in their life
• Terrace 1: (Pride) They carry large boulders to display the virtue of Humility
• Terrace 2: (Envious) Their owns are sewn shot yet they share kind stories to display the virtue of Patience
• Terrace 3: (Wrathful) They are consumed by a putrid cloud of smoke, yet perform acts of meeknees to display the virtue of compassion.
• Terrace 4: (Sloth) They work endlessly and with great effort to display the virtue of diligence
• Terrace 5: (Avarice) They lie down face first in prayer to display the virtue of moderation
• Terrace 6: (Gluttonous) They starve themselves and overcome temptation by staring at fruit trees to display the virtue of Temperance
• Terrace 7: (Lustful) They pass thru a wall of flames to display the virtue of Chastity
• Earthly Paradise: In the Garden of Eden there is a symbolic procession of the Bible and two rivers that erase sin and restore total righteousness.