Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Purgatorio, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Purgatory and the Heavenward Journey
Love, Sin, and God
Free Will
Spiritual Power vs. Earthly Power
Time
Summary
Analysis
Two souls, leaning on one another, approach Dante to ask him about his origins. When Dante identifies himself as originating from the banks of the Arno (an Italian river), the first figure, del Duca, goes on a lengthy rant about the corruption of present-day Tuscany, naming many obscure Italian figures. Then he identifies himself and explains that he’s doing penance for his lifelong tendency to envy others’ joy.
These two figures are Italians, Guido del Duca (a Ghibelline) and Rinieri da Calboli (a Guelph). Dante uses his encounter with these two men to highlight not only perennial human sins, but also what he sees as corruptions endemic to his Italian society—especially self-seeking envy.
Themes
As the two figures move on, Dante and Virgil hear the voices in the air reciting examples of envy, like Cain slaying his brother Abel and Aglauros being turned to stone. Virgil explains to Dante that human beings stubbornly keep their gaze fixed on earthly things instead of heavenly joy, and that’s why God strikes people down.
The voices in the air give biblical and classical examples of envy, contrasting with the examples of generosity voiced earlier. In the Book of Genesis, Cain murdered his brother Abel out of jealousy. In classical mythology, Aglauros, a daughter of Cecrops, the mythical king of Athens, was turned to stone by the god Mercury for her jealousy of her sister.
Themes
