Abstract: The figures of Piccarda, Pia, and Francesca would seem to be three editions of the same woman (infernal, penitential, redeemed), a type of woman who could easily rise to the realm of the blessed or descend to the realm of the damned, depending on circumstances. However, even for those who achieve redemption there is a marked hierarchy in Heaven. The placement of souls in the various spheres is based mainly on personal merit, but good will is not enough to excuse completely offenses committed against the redeemed soul. The result is a situation analogous to the two other realms of the Afterworld wherein the souls of the Sphere of the Moon are relegated to the equivalent of a heavenly limbo. The marked specialization of this group of souls, together with their defining descriptions, expressed and reinforced in purely negative terms, contributes to this limbo-like atmosphere where only certain classes or categories of people can be found.
Abstract from the American Dante Bibliography 1992
Reproduced by courtesy of the Dante Society of America