Dante's The Divine Comedy section of Purgatory is a depiction of Dante and his
struggle to reach paradise. He is a character as well as a narrator. The
purgatory section deals with the seven deadly sins and Dante's task of cleansing
himself on his journey to heaven. He confronts many different people on his
journey to self-righteousness, which help and guide him to his destiny.
Accompanied by Virgil or reason as he is depicted, his quest is a hard journey
with many answers to be found. Dante was born in May 1265 and lived his early
life at a time of change and of great economic and cultural expansion in
Florence (Kirkpatrick 2). The poet was critically aware of developments in
Florentine poetry and painting (2). He also had an eye for the political scene
as well. He was elected several times to one of the six priors that governed his
republic. Dante had left the city for a short time when a revolt took place
between the Black's and the Whites. Dante was exiled and sentenced to death for
corruption. Little is known about Dante's personal life or family life. His
mother died early in his childhood and his father died shortly after remarrying
again in 1285 (Grandgent 2). He gained a half brother and half sister out of
this marriage, but little is known of them either (2). There was possibly
another sister but if she was from the first or second marriage, we do not know.
Around 1277 Dante's father arranged Dante's marriage to Gemma, daughter of
Manetto Donati. The approximate date of marriage is around 1283, but again not
for certain. Dante had three children, two sons and a daughter who became a nun
and changed her name to Beatrice (Foster 12 ). After Gemma's death, Dante began
studying philosophy, which he soon seemed to fall in love with. Dante was never
able to return to the city for fear of his life. He wandered for the next twenty
years depending on patrons to help him survive. It is hard to find any
documentation on Dante's journey outside of Florence. It is know that his last
days were spent in Ravenna, under the watchful eye of Guido da Polenta. The city
recognized him as a great poet and it was here the last of The Divine Comedy was
written. Dante died shortly after finishing his final and best work in 1322. His
ashes are still buried next to the church of San Francesco. Dante's Purgatory
section of The Divine Comedy covers Dante's journey through Purgatory and the
challenges he faces. Purgatory was an island with a huge mountain towering from
it. At the top was Paradise or heaven. It was sealed off by a gate with angles
guarding the entrance. The bottom was antepurgatory where the souls that were
not ready for the journey resided. The mountain itself was composed of seven
concentric ledges separated by steep cliffs. On each ledge, one of the seven
capital sins waited on a soul. They were composed of Pride, Envy, Wrath Sloth,
Avarice, Gluttony, and Lust. When the soul had released his sin, he was able to
proceed to the next level. When he ascends to the next level, an angle would
greet him and perform a cleansing ritual. In addition, on each ledge of
Purgatory, there were models of the sin as well as the virtues which opposed the
sin. These were a kind of test for the soul. Dante was guided by Virgil or
reason as Virgil is depicted. Cato refuses to let Dante sit around and do
nothing. At first, he will not let them pass, but Virgil explains their reasons
for being there and gains passage. For Dante to be purified, he must first
witness a miracle. He breaks a reed in his hand and it instantly regrows itself.
Dante is now ready for his journey through Purgatory. The journey is a quest for
freedom, which could be considered the idea of purgatory. After leaving Hell,
each soul must make it through purgatory to find its place in heaven. Why was
freedom so important to Dante in The Divine Comedy? Early on in his life he had
been persecuted by the Black Party and forced into exile for his beliefs. This
could have influenced his writings in the Purgatory section of his work (Haller
6). We do not have much information on the early part of his life, but he should
have been seemingly happy for the most part. He had married a women which he did
not choose and seemingly fell in love. After her death, he seemed to search for
something. He had lost his home, his family, his wife and now searched for a way
out. His search was for freedom. The Purgatory section portrays him conquering
each of the seven deadly sins on his way to Paradise or freedom. Dante picked
the seven deadly sins as to his life. He must overcome seeing old friends and
family on each of the ledges as he climbs. His reasoning for picking these
particular seven sins is interesting. Did he pick them because of his vast
traveling and meditation? He had been studying philosophy during his exile,
which probably helped him picking some of the sins. Pride has always been a
problem in society. Dante also names gluttony. Why is eating too much a sin in
Dante's eyes? The envy ledge should not be a sin but a stepping stone for sin.
If a person envies someone or something so much, it could cause him to commit a
sin. Sloth is not a sin, but an unsophisticated state of being. People that are
lazy are not considered sinners. Anger could be considered a sin in that is
promotes sin after the fact. Greed should have been written in the Ten
Commandments. Dante does describe this sin correctly being that greed has
promoted many sins in all cultures. Lust is another sin most people will agree
on. Lust constitutes many crimes of passion and should remain at the top of the
list. At the entrance to each of the levels, Dante would meet someone he knew.
Dante's life seemed to be a happy one for the most part and it can be seen
through the people he met. Most of the people along the way were closely
associated with Dante but some were not. He goes into long descriptions of each
of the souls and how they seemed to affect his life. Each of the souls was on
the ledge of their demise. Dante becomes involved in discussions with some of
them or narrates why they are there. Each of the souls has their own story,
which in someway affected Dante's life. Dante of the characters shows
probability of suffering and pain he felt going through life. Each of the people
he met at one time in his life influenced him. Purgatory was only one of the
three sections in Dante's The Divine Comedy. It was a weigh station to heaven.
Once leaving hell, a soul was almost certain to make it to heaven on in
purgatory. Dante's depiction of purgatory in a sense was a depiction of his
quest for holiness. The story is of one man's journey to heaven through the
perils of Hell. Dante's notions of the seven deadly sins are wise but do not
seem to grasp some of the other sins thought to be worse. Why did he not include
murder? He did include anger and greed, which could lead to murder. Would
stealing not make his top 7 list? Again, we can look at greed or lust to cause
someone to steal. The people Dante met along the way had influenced his life in
some way or another. Each of the people met had a story which seemed to tell of
one segment of Dante's life. Dante's struggle for freedom in Purgatory is
finalized when he is introduced into Paradise. He has overcome all the seven
deadly sins and confronted all adversities on his way to holiness. Dante's life
truly inspired The Divine Comedy into one of the classic poetic stories of the
14th century. The Purgatory section of The Divine Comedy is by far the most
intriguing of the three in its attempt to relate to the seven deadly sins that
to this day confront society. One has to wonder if Dante knows something about
death and what is to come of us. Dante died over 600 years ago but his knowledge
lives on in philosophy and reworks of The Divine Comedy.