pilgrim's journey home: grace, free will, and predestination in the Commedia

In my dissertation, I explore the relationship between grace and free will in the Commedia, analyzing the redemptive process in the Purgatorio, and the contrapasso in the Inferno. My close examination of the theological, philosophical and literary contexts of free will explores the moral theories that helped to shape Dante's views on sin, divine justice and personal responsibility. I discuss how justifying grace, without infringing upon the free will, repairs the purgatorial pilgrims' wounded natures and liberates the will from the desire to sin. I devote particular attention to the purpose of infernal punishment which unites the sinner to his vice, allowing him to wallow in his wicked moral choices, and to the purpose of purgatorial punishment which redirects the will towards virtue. Ultimately, I claim that free will without the guidance of grace leads souls in the Commedia to damnation.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-194)by Diane Enrica Biunn