The final piece for Dante’s salvation is Beatrice. In canto 30 Dante is awestruck at finally seeing Beatrice after all those years “I saw the lady who had first appeared/ to me beneath the veils of the angelic/ flowers look at me across the stream” (Alighieri 64-66). But, this does not mean that Dante is going to Paradise. Here, Beatrice is depicted with a stern and harsh stance towards Dante, “just as a mother seems / harsh to her child, so did she seem to me/ how bitter is the savor of stern pity!”(Alighieri 79-81). Dante is to undergo one last trial or reflection in order to ascend. It makes you wonder if the journey through Hell and Purgatory was enough to grant entry to Paradise, but it is not that simple; Dante passed and spectated throughout his journey, not participating. Dante merely took lessons from cautionary stories. In order to truly grant access to Paradise he must look into himself, and renounce all his sins by feeling anguish and sorrow: “my reply/ be understood by him who weeps beyond,/ so that his sorrow’s measure match his sins”(Alighieri 106-108). We have come to know since the beginning of Inferno that Dante has overwhelming love for Beatrice. With that in mind, there is no room for self deception for Dante. He cannot hide or lie about his sins to himself or even his love. Thus, he finally rids himself of sin by acknowledging them and feeling remorseful.
Tag Archives: purgatory
Dante and Beatrice on Earth and in the Earthly Paradise
Dante’s first known work, Vita Nova or New Life, heavily centers around the relationship, or lack thereof, between Dante and Beatrice. As I mentioned in a previous post, my first academic encounter with Dante was Vita Nova. I was, and still am, fascinated by the one-sided relationship Dante seems to have with Beatrice in Vita Nova which seems to expand into more of a reciprocal relationship in Purgatorio. I say this because in Vita Nova Dante and Beatrice only have a few interactions of little to no consequence other than in Dante’s mind. I remember wondering last year if Beatrice would have even known who Dante was or just vaguely recognized his face if they passed by each other on the street.
When Beatrice finally comes to Dante’s side for the first time in La Commedia, I immediately found my copy of Vita Nova* to see what comparisons I could find. I decided not to immediately read the Purgatorio footnotes for Canto 30 since I wanted to see what I could come up with organically, almost like a small test of my analyzing skills.
Both times Dante sees Beatrice for the “first” time (the true first time on Earth and the first time during his journey outside the earthly realm) he almost immediately describes her clothing. After three very long sentences in Vita Nova, amounting to about half a page, where Dante uses astrological terms to explain how old he and Beatrice are at the time of this first sighting, in the fourth he writes:
“She appeared, dressed in a very stately color, a subdued and dignified crimson, girdled and adorned in a manner that was fitting for her young age” (page 3).
In Purgatorio, Dante again immediately describes her clothing before he talks about her effect on him, writing:
“her white veil girt with olive, a lady appeared to me, clothed, beneath a green mantle, in the color of living flame” (lines 31-33).
Both times Dante sees Beatrice she is clothed in red. I have a note handwritten in my copy of Vita Nova that I am almost sure was information Professor Van Peteghem told us in class explaining that crimson was linked to grief after death during Dante’s time. If that is true, it juxtaposes the two shades of red perfectly. The first is linked to death and the other to the living flame.
The second time Dante sees Beatrice in Vita Nova he once again describes her clothing, writing that the “marvelous lady appeared to me dressed in pure white, between two gracious women, both of whom were older than she” (page 4). This white is again seen in the description of her veil in Purgatory. The two gracious women that Dante sees Beatrice accompanied by in this quote sparked my interest as well. In Canto 2 of Inferno, I had found it very odd that it took two intermediaries, St Mary and St Lucy, to intercede with Beatrice on Dante’s behalf so that she would ask Virgil to help him. It is a possibility in both cases that Dante has the total be three women due to the holiness of the number three, however, I am curious if there might be a link between the two women Dante sees Beatrice with in Vita Nova and the two women that are intermediaries to Beatrice in Inferno.
Unfortunately, I could not find any mention of the color green in Vita Nova which makes this comparison fall just a little short. I went as far as to find a digital copy and keyword search everything I could think of, including mentions of olives and leaves, which was to no avail. Never the less, I am still satisfied with the comparisons I did find between Vita Nova and Purgatorio.
*All quotations from Vita Nova are from the Andrew Frisardi edition published in 2012.
Paper Idea: I would like to examine the similarities and differences between any women represented by both Dante and Christine de Pizan if you think it is a good idea for a paper.
Pride and Position
Dante watches as the prideful purge themselves, Title: Proud Penitents (Oderisi da Gubbio), Illustration by Gustave Doré, Source: Danteworlds (UTexas) (Galleries of Purgatory (Terrace of Pride))
As Dante and Virgil continue to voyage through purgatory they find themselves on the first terrace in canto 10. Each of the seven terraces symbolize the seven capital vices, of which the travelers encounter the prideful souls. Dante, as the author, purposefully creates parallels between cantos of the same number in purgatory and inferno. As an example, upon entrance in both the sixth circle of heresy and the terrace of pride, not a single soul is visible in sight. The reason for this could possibly be that the arrogance with which the souls carry themselves push them to believe that any visitors that come their way aren’t worthy of seeing who they are immediately nor are the visitors worthy of knowing who they are. While this may not be true for all the souls of the sixth circle, the behavior of the souls that Dante does get to meet indicate otherwise. As for purgatory, the reason for this has to do with the contrapasso of the punishments of the prideful. Each of the souls are forced to look at the ground because of the tremendously heavy stones weighing them down on their spines. This is an opposition to the overly-confident attitudes that the souls have in their living days where their attitudes kept their heads up high during every encounter. The punishment allows them to understand the negative traits they possess and how one cannot spend eternity as someone who treats others as though they are below them. The simultaneous pounding of their chests reflects the process of the purging of the souls into better versions of who they used to be giving them an element of sincerity that lacks in the souls of inferno.
Meanwhile, the sinners of canto 10 in inferno have mainly committed heresy but one character, known as Farinata, shows evidence of pride and arrogance. Dante narrates, “I had already fixed my eyes in his; and he was/ rising up with his breast and forehead as if he had/ Hell in great disdain,” (34-37, 173, Inferno). The focus on his breast and forehead symbolize the importance of courage. Farinata keeps his head held high, which forces Dante to look up to him while they’re conversing as he stands at the base of Farinata’s tomb. This, consequently, creates a hierarchy between the two characters putting Farinata above Dante. As Farinata rises from his tomb in a prideful and arrogant manner, he maintains a calm and collected demeanor despite the circumstances he finds himself in. His pride is further emphasized when Dante proclaims, “…as if he had Hell in great disdain. (34-35, 157, Inferno). The superior tone, in sharp contrast to the souls of purgatory, implies an attitude of superiority that lacks in the atmosphere, itself, of purgatory. Farinata acts as though he is above the afflictions of Hell and cannot be bothered to concern himself with the sufferings that surround him. Furthermore, his bearing implies a concern with social status which is emphasized when he asks Dante if he comes from the opposing political faction of Guelphs. Such attitudes aren’t present either at Dante’s first encounter with the prideful, despite their vices, because if they behave in such a manner, which counters the will of God and his reasoning for placing the souls in either inferno, purgatory or paradise, then the purging souls would not be where they are now in the first place.
The social statuses, however, that Farinata preoccupies himself with are understandable because, the deeper one delves into inferno, the rougher, harsher and more terrifying the souls’ punishments become. Perhaps, he is attempting to prove to Dante that although he is in the sixth circle of Hell, he is worth much more than what God deems him to be, who consequently places him in this petrifying circle. When it comes to purgatory, the higher one climbs the levels of purgatory, the closer they come to the entrance of paradise and all the goodness and light it contains. This signifies that even though the prideful souls are in the first terrace and as a result, aren’t as close to paradise as the rest of the souls, their purging is considered worth the journey. Their social statuses, unlike the souls of inferno, are temporary and are subject to transforming into a brighter and more peaceful eternity as opposed to the devastating and never ending torments of inferno.
The Punishment of Satan/The Contrapasso of Lucifer
Dante and Virgil Encounter Lucifer in Hell, 1923 Giclee Print by Henry John Stock
In Canto 34, Dante is introduced to Satan, “the creature who had once been beautiful.” (17-18) Dante’s descriptions of Satan are haunting, so haunting that Dante pauses the dialogue to engage the reader stating: “I became frozen and feeble, do not ask reader, for I do not write it, and all speech would be insufficient.” (22-24) But Satan’s real punishment isn’t just his eternal fate in hell. He’s doomed to forever be one with hell, punishing not only Judas, Brutus, and Cassius, but also the other members of the 9th circle with the cold beats of his bat-like wings. In other words, he’s reduced to a mechanism of hell, equivalent to other beasts and lower forms we’ve seen in other Cantos, like Cerberus or Plutus from upper hell.
The contrapasso of Lucifer is very evident. Not only through his punishment, but Dante’s descriptions of Lucifer. Almost without exception Dante refers to Satan’s prior perfection, literally a “light-bearer,” the translation of Lucifer: “If he was as beautiful then as now he is ugly, when he lifted his brow against his Maker.” (34-35) This further develops the idea of his punishment. A rebel against God, he is now doomed to forever remain a mechanism of God’s divine justice. A punishment to others who also violated God’s divine authority.
Lucifer’s physical punishment also reflects this contrapasso. Massive in size, but rooted in ice, Lucifer is both incredibly intimidating but at the same time utterly docile. This is further illustrated by his utter silence throughout the canto, forced to continue God’s will and chew sinners for eternally with three mouths, a parallel to the trinity.
I think that the geology of lower hell is very interesting, especially in reference to Satan. As Virgil and Dante leave the 9th circle to exit hell, Dante describes how “I raised my eyes, thinking to see Lucifer as I had left him, and I saw that he extended his legs upward.” (88-89) I like to think that this is a reference to the 8th circle, 3rd Bolgia, in which the feet of simonists are engulfed in flame. In a certain way, Satan too used his position in a different context for personal gain.
Ultimately, I think that the punishment of Lucifer is a poetic and powerful transition into Purgatorio. I think that because of Lucifer’s silence in the Canto and his diminished state as a mechanism of hell reflects the punishment of sinners in the Anti-Inferno, who aren’t recognized at all. While Satan is recognized, he isn’t glorified or even dignified by speech, as other sinners have been. He’s simply condemned to his fate and eternally frozen in the absence of God’s light, and warmth.
The transition from torment, sin & evilness to spiritual cleansing, unification & praise
In canto 33, the sinner who is chewing on his neighbor raises his head and tells Dante that he is Count Ugolino from Pisa and he eats the head of Archbishop Ruggieri (who imprisoned Ugolino and his sons in a tower, where they starved to death). Ugolino re-tells his story to Dante, by saying that starvation led Ugolino to gnaw at his own hands and his sons mistook this for hunger and offered their bodies as food, willingly sacrificing their own bodies. Ugolino states, “There he died; and as you see me, I saw the three fall one by one between the fifth day and the sixth; and I, already blind, took to groping over each of them, and for two days I called them, after they were dead. Then fasting had more power than grief” (Canto 33, lines 70-75). Dante cries out against Pisa because Ugolino was a traitor, but his sons were starved to death as a punishment for Ugolino’s betrayal in which Dante the author accuses the Pisan government of unjustly punishing Ugolino’s sons. Dante uses this individual’s story (Ugolino) as a way to criticize an Italian town; unlike Dante the pilgrim’s previous journey where he faints from the pity from Francesca and Paolo’s story, Dante is learning to moderate his responses in regard to the suffering souls of the sinners. But for Dante the author, Ugolino’s betrayal of his city does not negate or make invalid the fact that Ugolino loves his sons and the grief Ugolino felt for his sons was genuine. Moving on to the next ring, one suffering soul begs Dante to pull the layer of frozen tears from his face, so that he can cry once more (even though these tears will freeze over his face again and again). Dante agrees as long as the spirit tells him his name, which is Fra Alberigo. Friar Alberigo killed his own brother after inviting him to a dinner. Dante learns Alberigo is not dead, but that this region of Hell called Ptolomaea (which reserves souls for those who betray guests; the demon in this circle holds the souls even before they have died). The bodies of these people are then possessed by demons on earth. He points out another suffering soul to Dante whom is Branca d’Oria, who Dante knows to be alive. Dante’s sense of God’s justice is evident as Fra Alberigo asks Dante to scrape the ice from his eyes but Dante refuses, saying “I did not open them for him; and it was courtesy to treat him boorishly” (Canto 33, lines 149-150). This canto draws a contrast between Dante’s criticism of the Pisan government, which demonstrates the imperfection of human beings and God, whose punishments may seem pitiless but are always just.
In canto 34, Virgil and Dante are approaching Hell and the king of Hell –Satan. Satan has three faces: one red, one yellow, and one black. Satan also has three pairs of wings that beat which causes the great wind and freezes the river. In each mouth he chews a sinner—Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, and Brutus and Cassius, who betrayed Julius Caesar. Virgil and Dante then climb up onto Satan’s monstrous body. Dante holds tight to Virgil as they make the perilous climb up Satan’s body (which isn’t the first time they climb up something steep; which occurs in Canto 24-25 — when they cross the bridge). Dante and Virgil finally reach an area in which they can rest. Dante looks out from it, expecting to see Lucifer’s head, but instead Dante the pilgrim sees his legs stretching up before him, as if everything is upside down. Also, instead of night, its now morning. Virgil says they have passed through Earth into the Southern Hemisphere, and because Satan fell to Earth from Heaven in this hemisphere, there is no land, just ocean. As a transitional segue, Virgil gives more information about the structure of the world as he and Dante move towards Purgatorio. When Satan fell from Heaven, Virgil says, his impact caused a pit to form on Earth which became Hell. Dante looks up and is able to see the bright stars in the sky, which he hasn’t seen since entering hell. The symbolism of the three heads represents Dante’s tendency to mix Christian figures (the holy trinity) with those from Greek and Roman history and mythology. The other demons of Hell express emotion(s), however, Satan, as the manifestation of damnation doesn’t explain his circumstances or express any emotion; instead Satan seems automatic in a mechanical way – hence his tears and his violent, chewing of the sinners. Perhaps Dante the writer does this as way to show that while many of the other sinners are affected by evilness, they still remain fundamentally human; which is something readers are able to see in Virgil and Dante as well. However, pure evil (like Satan) contains no traces of humanity. The imagery in the ending of this canto is visually appealing when Dante writes, “My leader and I entered on that hidden path to return to the bright world; and, without taking care for rest at all, up we climbed, he first and I second, until I saw the beautiful things the heavens carry, through a round opening. And thence we came forth to look again at the stars” (canto 34, lines 133-139). Dante the pilgrim is no longer in a dark wood: but instead is exiting from the world of torment, suffering and sin and heading towards a world signaling God’s presence: emerging into the light of God’s love. He has to more to learn on his journey and has to move forward, but at the end of Inferno, the cantica suggests that Dante the pilgrim is no longer lost.
Canto 1 in Purgatorio an important soul appears which is Cato — Cato who was a Roman politician and known for his defiance of Julius Caesar. Cato questions Dante and Virgil asking Virgil why he is in Purgatory, since Virgil’s soul is designated to Limbo and Dante is not yet dead. Virgil explains to Cato that their journey is permissioned by the heavenly figure Beatrice whom asked Virgil to lead Dante through the afterlife. Cato orders Virgil to prepare Dante by binding his waist with a reed and washing him clean of the filth of Hell. Because Cato is a non-Christian, it seems strange he welcomes souls entering into Purgatory. Therefore, Cato would seem to belong with Virgil in Limbo. In addition, another, more perceptible problem is Cato’s death is suicide, which he chose rather than surrender to his enemy Julius Caesar. Traditionally, Catholic religion held suicide to be among the greatest of mortal sins, and Dante puts those who died by suicide their own special place in Hell (canto 13 with Pier Della Vigna). However, Dante the poet, makes an exception for Cato, whose suicide is excused and even proves the politician’s righteous nature. Canto 2 in Purgatorio, there is a flash of light from across the sea which signals the approach of an angel coming towards Dante and Virgil, a sight that overpowers Dante when he states, “When, for a moment, I’d withdrawn my eyes that I might ask a question of my guide, I saw that light again, larger, more bright. Then, to each side of it, I saw a whiteness, though I did not know what that whiteness was; below, another whiteness slowly showed” (canto 2, lines 19-24). This angel is guiding a boat which contains departed souls heading towards Mount Purgatory. The souls ask Virgil and Dante for directions, but Virgil admits he knows nothing of the geography when he states, “but we are strangers here, just as you are” (canto 2, line 63). Dante recognizes a friend, a musician named Casella (who is also a passenger of the boat). As Dante moves to embrace Casella, he is surprised because he grasps only air. Casella talks with Dante about life back in Italy then sings a song — Dante pleasantly listens to the soul when he says, “he then began to sing—and sang so sweetly that I still hear that sweetness sound in me” (canto 2, 113-114). Other souls join Dante in listening to the song but Casella leaves in a hasty departure. Although Dante is not dead yet, he is welcomed by the penitents with curiosity and politeness. This is one difference noted between Purgatory and Hell is that Purgatory is structured around this idea of fellowship with others, whereas the souls in Hell are cut off from God and from one another (like Farinata and Cavalcanti are in the same tombstone but don’t communicate and acknowledge each other). The damned are physically near one another, their sinful behavior causes them to be in a terrible form of solitary confinement. The singing from Cato and the souls listening also displays a type of form such as reciting psalms and singing hymns. Therefore, Purgatory consists of souls who come together in divine praise.
