Dante and the Cult of Mary
Next to Beatrice, Mary is probably the most important female character in Dante’s Comedy. Mary’s symbolism in relation to the souls of purgatory appears relatively simple at first: her examples of virtue both reprove the penitent sinners for their sins and encourage them in their purgation. However, Mary’s exact nature is more complex because she is presented as both divine and human, and the juxtaposition of her two natures provides her with a multifaceted relationship to the souls and to Dante. ... As Marianne Shapiro points out in Woman Earthly and Divine in the Comedy of Dante, Mary is, above all, presented as the epitome of a good mother who satisfies the needs of her child, including his spiritual appetites. As a good mother, Mary leads a pilgrim, who is her “spiritual child,” to goodness, to the child’s father, to God (Shapiro 119). Referenced throughout Purgatory, the Virgin Mary is a much more palpable presence in the second realm of the afterlife than in the first. In Inferno, Mary is referred to only once when Virgil tells Dante that Mary was the one who originally took pity on Dante and willed his journey through the three realms: “In Heaven there’s a gentle lady - one/who weeps for the distress toward which I send you” (Inf. ... Thus, Mary’s importance to Dante’s journey is underscored by the very fact that she was the one who initiated it. ... However, Mary’s name is directly stated throughout purgatory, often by the souls undergoing their purgation when they either offer prayers to her or when they voice her examples of virtue. Therefore, the mention of Mary’s name by the souls is appropriate because she aids them in the absolution of their sins, which is the goal of all the souls in purgatory. While Mary’s seven virtues are catalogued on each step of purgatory, only two of her virtues - her humility that is portrayed in a statue in canto 10 and her meekness that is visualized by Dante in a vision in canto 15 - are not vocalized in any manner. Furthermore, the fact that Mary is often directly quoted from scripture in Purgatory presents her as a more physical being than she was presented in Inferno, and the references to her throughout purgatory prefigure her actual appearance in Paradiso. Mary is perhaps given a special, even a divine, status in Dante’s Purgatory because Marian worship became increasingly important to Catholic theology and piety in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Hilda Graef points out that popular devotion to Mary around the twelfth century evoked new hymns, like the “Salve Regina,” as well as new prayers, like “Hail Mary,” at approximately the same time (Graef 229-230). “Salve Regina” expresses man’s confidence in Mary’s power as their advocate with God as she serves as a mediator between man and Christ. Furthermore, “Hail Mary” presents Mary as the epitome of the virtuous woman because she is the mother of Christ: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with they, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, because thou didst conceive the Redeemer of our souls” (Graef 230).