Eve

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In Purgatorio VIII, v. 99, Dante cites Eve with regard to the "bitter food," evoking the transgression of the forbidden fruit that the biblical tradition attributes to her as the origin of original sin. This citation is part of the canto's reasoning on free will and on human responsibility before good and evil, themes that the poet intertwines with the metaphorical meaning of the earthly landscape. In Purgatorio XXIX, v. 24, the poet recalls Eve again, indicating that her "boldness" — the initiative with which she took and tasted the fruit — provoked a reproach, that is, a condemnation, thus becoming the principle of humanity's corruption. Both mentions present Eve as a moral and historical-religious figure of reference, evoked by Dante in the Purgatorio to explain the roots of human guilt and the path of purification that follows from it.