How did Dante’s Purgatorio connect theology with moral psychology?

In Purgatorio, Dante connects Roman Catholic theology with moral psychology by framing the journey as a process of active spiritual rehabilitation rather than the passive alienation depicted in Inferno.1

While Inferno presents a system of models to be discarded, Purgatorio portrays the pilgrim as an active participant who must subdue his own personality to ascend. This transition reflects the Christian view of life as a pilgrimage, where the soul undergoes a painful but necessary process of expiation.12

Dante integrates moral psychology by structuring the ascent around the seven deadly sins, which are treated as dispositions toward sin that must be countered by their corresponding heavenly virtues. By moving beyond the static, regressive nature of Hell, the Purgatorio opens up historical, political, and moral vistas, allowing the protagonist to reject the deceptive promises of the temporal world and align his will with divine grace. Through this, Dante transforms his personal experience of exile into a universal paradigm of the fall of humankind and the subsequent path toward spiritual recovery.31