Cato, Marcia, And The Problems They Cause: PURGATORIO, Canto I, Lines 49 - 84 (Part Two)

Our second episode on this tough passage. Here, we focus on Cato and Marcia, two big problems in the text. Why and how is Cato redeemed? Or is he? And how does Marcia pray for him from Limbo?

In the end, love moves the fence. But not without costs. Not without hairline fractures in Dante's COMEDY. Because moving the fence is always costly. But necessary.

Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:37] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto I, Lines 49 - 84. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or drop a comment, please go to my website, markscarbrough.com.

[04:09] The gatekeeper of Purgatory is Cato the Younger, a Roman Stoic pagan suicide.

[06:07] How do we know this is Cato when Dante never names him? Because of references to Lucan's PHARSALIA and Dante's CONVIVIO.

[08:28] Why doesn't Dante the poet name Cato?

[09:37] Who is Marcia, Cato's wife?

[12:11] Is Marcia truly praying for Cato from Limbo? Four possible answers.

[16:24] Is Cato truly redeemed? Many commentators quibble or just say "no."

[18:53] What does it mean that Cato is redeemed? Motive begins to count as much as action.

[22:19] Augustine's CONFESSIONS may be a structuring device for PURGATORIO: Stoicism, Platonism, Christianity.

[27:59] Cato's place in PURGATORIO heightens Virgil's tragedy and brings hairline fractures to the very structure of COMEDY.