Stars Symbol Analysis

Throughout Purgatorio, stars symbolize the light of God’s grace. In particular, the stars symbolize different virtues that are reflective of good, godly behavior. At the beginning of the poem, four stars hang in sky. They represent the “cardinal” or “natural” Virtues of justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude—virtues that were believed to be attainable by non-Christians and Christians alike. As Canto 8 draws to a close, Dante notices that these four stars have set, and three new stars have risen in their place. These three stars represent the “theological” virtues (or Graces) of faith, hope, and love, which are instilled and strengthened by means of the Church and its sacraments. While these three virtues are attainable only by Christians, all seven of these virtues are vehicles for God’s grace—in other words, like a star, God “shines” through the person who demonstrates these virtues.

In the poem, stars also represent Heaven, playing on the long-held association between the skies and the heavens. At the end of the Purgatorio, having now journeyed through Hell and Purgatory, Dante prepares to enter Heaven, or Paradise (as chronicled in Dante’s Paradiso). To restore Dante’s memories of his past sin without shame, Matilda leads him to the river Eunoe. After drinking from its sweet waters, Dante feels “remade […] pure and prepared to rise towards the stars.” Now that he’s made it through Purgatory, grappled with his past sins, and been cleansed of those sins, Dante is ready to “rise towards the stars,” meaning that he’s now pure and wise enough to enter Heaven. But given the explicit association earlier in the poem between stars and virtues, it also seems that Dante, having now been thoroughly educated, cleansed, and renewed throughout his journey in both Hell and Purgatory, is “prepared to rise towards the stars” in the sense that he can now fully embody all of the godly virtues outlined earlier in the poem, like justice, hope, and love.

Alternately, “the stars” sometimes symbolize the role nature plays in influencing human behavior—something that God-given free will is meant to overcome. In the poem, Dante questions where sin first came from. Some people believe that sin came from nature, while others believe that sin arose out of humankind’s free will: “Some place the cause in the stars, some here below.” Lombardo, a soul in Purgatory, explains, “the stars initiate” human behaviors—that is, to some extent, humans are naturally predisposed to behave in certain ways—but this isn’t the full story. Lombardo argues that God imbued humans with the ability to discern right from wrong and then choose accordingly, which is also known as free will. So while “the stars” perhaps explain some human behaviors, people also have the capacity to choose sin or reject it.