Purgatorio- Canto 13

Summary

At the beginning of this Canto Dante and Virgil make it to the second terrace of Purgatory which is for the envious. It is very similar to the first terrace but it is smaller in circumference as they climb mount purgatory, there are no strange sculptures and the rock is of a blueish colour. They do not come across any passersby to ask for directions this time so Virgil tells Dante that they would be wasting too much time and so Virgil uses the sun as a compass before they decide to take the path clockwise. They travel a mile before they hear something, but they still cannot yet see anything. Virgil explains that this is the terrace for envy and Dante notices that the souls here are crying out for the intercession of the saints and other religious people like the virgin Mary. The souls have dressed in coarse clothing the same colour as the rock around them. The envious were holding on to each other for support and Dante notices that their eyes were sewn shut with iron wires, so they can't see the light of heaven. In this imagery, Dante compares them to hawks.

After praying for the souls, Dante asks if any of them are Italian and one of the souls reply. This soul was Sienese who admits to desiring her enemies misery mire than her own good fortune. She then asks who Dante is and why he is in Purgatory as a living being. Dante responds with offering to carry a message from Sapia to her surviving relatives. 

Analysis

Throughout purgatory, Dante describes punishments which are uniquely fitted to the sins they committed. This shows up very forcefully in Inferno, where the souls often act out their crimes continuously. In purgatory, however, it serves a more productive role of helping the souls bear in mind their sins as they are punished for them.

Because to some extent Dante chooses his own punishments for the crimes mentioned, it is sometimes possible to inference his philosophical and religious views from the method of his punishment. In Dantes's eyes, envy is a misdirect vision or blindness and so the punishment for the envious is to be blinded.

Key Quotes

"We are, dear brother, now all citizens of one true place"