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
Weeping and overcome, Dante stammers out a confession that, indeed, after Beatrice’s death, he was distracted by “mere things of here and now” and failed to pursue any higher good. Beatrice scolds Dante for allowing himself to be “pierced by the arrows of fallacious things,” instead of striving to get closer to God after her death. Dante just stands there, looking shamefully at the ground, like a “little boy,” and finally faints with remorse.
Even after Dante has finished climbing Mount Purgatory, it’s only after he’s confronted by Beatrice face to face that he’s fully overcome by the weight of his sin. This suggests that it’s only compared to the beauty of innocence (as seen here in the Earthly Paradise) that the ugliness of sin becomes truly apparent. Indeed, because for Dante, Beatrice symbolizes God’s love, it’s as if he’s under God’s judging gaze, too.
Themes
Then, Dante finds himself being drawn into the stream by Matilda’s grip. After he’s been submerged in Lethe, he’s drawn, still dripping, to join the dancing Four Virtues. These ladies guide him over toward Beatrice, who is standing by the gryphon. When Dante looks at the beast being reflected in Beatrice’s eyes, he sees, to his astonishment, that the creature is alternately reflected as an eagle and as a lion. Then, the Three Graces come forward, singing, urging Beatrice to lift her veil and look at Dante.
Being submerged in the waters of Lethe allows Dante to forget his sin and its accompanying grief. The Four Virtues—symbolizing those so-called natural virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude) that prepare people’s souls to receive God’s revelation—bring him to Beatrice, who symbolizes God’s revelation within creation. The alternating lion/eagle images symbolize the dual nature of God Incarnate (human and divine). The Three Graces, or theological virtues (faith, hope, and love) bring Dante the rest of the way to being able to meet Beatrice’s gaze.
Themes
