The narrative of salvation: an analysis from the narrative psychology of Dante Alighieri's

Abstract

This article proposes an interpretation of The Divine Comedy through the lens of narrative psychology, understood as the study of the self through life stories that give existential meaning. Moving beyond a strictly theological or literary reading, the paper argues that Dante’s poem can be viewed as a narrative structure that symbolically dramatizes the transformation of personal identity. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of Jerome Bruner, Dan McAdams, and Paul Ricoeur, the protagonist’s journey is analyzed as a life narrative that moves through stages of rupture (dark forest), confrontation (inferno), re-signification (purgatory), and integration (paradise). Each of these phases is approached as a dynamic configuration of the self, confronting shadow, guilt, hope, and transcendence. The analysis emphasizes how poetic narrative serves as a symbolic vehicle for self-knowl-edge, providing the narrator—and the reader—with a guide to reworking the past and opening toward a renewed horizon of meaning. Within this framework, The Divine Comedy can be interpreted as a therapeutic narrative, enabling the narrative self to traverse existential fragmentation and reorganize it into a symbolically fulfilled story. The work is thus understood as an archetypal narrative matrix applicable to contemporary contexts marked by identity crisis, loss of meaning, and the need for subjective reconstruction. The text demonstrates how literature functions as a mediator between lived experience and its symbolic integration, affirming the power of narrative language as a tool for psychological, ethical, and spiritual transformation.