Throughout Dante’s journey in Purgatory, guides accompany him: first Virgil, then Virgil and Statius, then Matelda and Beatrice. At every level he travels through, he encounters and converses with countless penitents, many of whom are historical figures from 13th- and 14th-century Europe. In addition, figures from classical and biblical texts exist through the poem from the first canto to the last. Dante is never alone, just as the penitents he encounters are never alone. This speaks to a central theme in the poem, which is that purification from sin is not a solitary journey of the self, but a recovery of the communal self, achieved through collaboration and conversation. Through his poetic form (see “Symbols and Motifs”), Dante invites readers to engage in the communal meaning-making process as well.

In Canto 17, approximately mid-way through the poem, Virgil discusses the nature of love and sin. What he calls “natural love” (238) is neither positive nor negative but the God-given desire to continue existing and to pursue what brings joy. All living creatures possess these impulses. What differentiates humans from other living beings is what Virgil calls “mind-love” (238), the rational and intellectual consciousness God gave to humans alone.