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Canto 24
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
Dante, Virgil, and Statius continue their climb, reaching a narrow stairway they must climb single-file. Seeing Dante’s puzzled expression, Virgil encourages him to ask the question that’s bothering him: how, when souls don’t require food, do these spirits become so thin? Statius replies, discussing at length the formation of the soul by God, the development of the physical body in the womb, and the spiritual bodies of the souls in Purgatory.
This difficult passage draws on Aristotelian philosophy to explain the relationship between the body and the soul. Statius first explains (according to the scientific understanding of the time) the development of the fetus in the womb, which, put simply, comes about through a coagulation of semen and menstrual blood. The fetus proceeds through various developmental phases, but how it develops an intellect—the thing that distinguishes it from, say, vegetables or animals—is not precisely understood. However, the key point is that God breathes a soul into the fetus, which makes it an individual person. This soul can never be separated from the person, which explains Dante’s ability to recognize individuals in Purgatory even though they are not presently united to their bodies. The soul is the ground of the individual. That, in short, is why the spiritual bodies in Purgatory, though intangible, recognizably reflect the true state of the individuals’ souls.
Themes
Reaching the top level of upper Purgatory, they are confronted by the sight of blazing fire and must make their way cautiously along a narrow rim. They hear the lustful penitents singing the hymn “God of supreme clemency,” and Dante sees spirits walking through the flames. After they finish singing the hymn, the spirits call out examples of chastity, such as the virgin Mary, the goddess Diana, and marital chastity in general.
The group reaches the highest level of Purgatory proper, where souls are purged of lust. Lust, or excessive sexual desire, is counteracted by the virtue of chastity (which isn’t just celibacy, but also includes sexual desire within the Church-sanctioned bounds of marriage). Fire symbolizes the sin of lust itself, but it’s also a purifying element through which every sinner escaping Purgatory must finally pass.
Themes
