The Pilgrim Meets Cato

                I found Dante’s written and Dore’s engraving of the encounter between the pilgrim and Cato very interesting. In the painting we see the pilgrim on his knees, showing reverence to the guardian of Purgatory. Virgil, on the other hand, remains standing in both depictions of the events. This does not make much sense to me. Virgil is a soul from Limbo. Even though this may not be in the lower reaches of Hell, he is still a pagan outside of God’s kingdom without the opportunity to reach salvation. On top of this, Virgil may be the pilgrim’s guardian, but he is not the guardian of Limbo, just another soul there. Cato is also a pagan, yet he was lifted out of Limbo and has come to hold authority over Purgatory. For these reasons it seems that Virgil should be bowing to show reverence to Cato instead of standing as if he was on equal terms with Cato. In my opinion, the positions could even be switched, with the pilgrim standing and Virgil bowing. This is because the pilgrim is still alive and may return to following the “right” path on his way to salvation. In this respect he has more power, or at least potential, than his guide.

                Another interesting aspect of this engraving is the four-star constellation that is in the middle of the night sky. As can be seen in Dore’s work, the stars are giving off an incredible amount of light; enough to illuminate Cato’s face to appear as bright as the sun and cast shadows from Virgil and the pilgrim. Cato’s shade, however, does not appear to cast a shadow. One may expect the pilgrim to cast a shadow, since he is still living and his flesh is real. But Virgil, a dead soul, is also creating a shadow. It would seem to make more sense if both souls did not cast shadows. This difference may be because Cato holds the four virtues the stars of the constellation represent so fully that not only do they illuminate his face, but shine forth from his entire being so as to never create a shadow. Obviously a shadow is darkness, the opposite of light and in relation to the Comedy, a lack of knowledge or understanding. Virgil and the pilgrim’s shadows then may be seen as these two not possessing these virtues to such an extent as the guardian of Purgatory.

                In both of these regards, Dore’s depiction of the first canto of Purgatory is very interesting. It may be that I am just reading too much into Virgil standing while the pilgrim bows and Virgil’s shadow. But both of these details may be important to fully interpreting Dore’s piece.