Dante Alighieri, Purgatorio; An uphill climb

The Story
Dante ascends through the 9 stages of Purgatory. The first two are before the main gate of purgatory. These are the excommunicated, but repentant, and the late repentant, those who waited till their dying breath to repent. At the gate of Purgatory, an angel etches seven P's on Dante's forehead.
The other seven, follow the seven deadly sins and Shades must spend time in the levels that they are guilty of, for an unspecified amount of time.  Each of these levels has its own punishment, related to the sin to be Atoned for. At the end of each level, an angle removes one of the P's from Dante's forehead.
The third level is Pride and Shades are forced to walk, bent, under huge stones, never getting a chance to see the motif on humility that dominates the wall.
The Fourth level is Envy. The penetant wear gray robes and have their eyes sewn shut with wire, so that they can no longer look on the things of others, with want.
The Fifth level is Wrath. Here the Shades proceed around in a cloud of smoke, so that they can not see.
The Sixth level is Sloth. Here the Shades run endlessly around the level, in such zeal that they did not have in life.
The Seventh level is Avarice (Greed, ambition etc.). Here the shades are bound, hand and foot, and must lie facing downwards, so that they can not want more of every good thing.
The Eight level is Gluttony. Here Shades are perpetually hungry and thirsty, and water and food is visible but out of reach.
The Ninth level is Lust. Here Shades must leap through flames while reciting chased stories. Dante too, must leap through the fire. Though he is scared, he wants to see Beatrice.
Beyond the Levels, there is Earthly Paradise or the garden of Eden, at this point Virgil leaves Dante's side and he progresses alone. He spends some time talking with a young woman, until Beatrice arrives with a large entourage, that includes the four winged beast and the 24 elders.

Reflections
This time, we see the seven deadly sins. Not being to familiar with the concept of Purgatory, I had expected to see these in the Inferno, but I guess they are the sins that the repentant get caught in, not the sins of the unrepentant.
It is interesting how Dante has paired the sins with their respective penitence, it is rather logical. While the church still has and uses the seven deadly sins, the idea of purgatory has been removed and replaced with the more biblical: Jesus died for all sins even those of the Christian.

Comparisons
The levels of Purgatory are far more distinct than the circles of the Inferno, which makes it a bit easier to follow. I still find it odd that this is where the seven deadly sins are used, if they are deadly surely they would be sent to hell.
Like the Inferno, Virgil continues to guide Dante through purgatory, as he did with hell. But, we do see this end as he reaches the Earthly Paradise in the Purgatorio.

Have you read Purgatorio? If so what did you think of it?

Want to read Purgatorio but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
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