The Purgatory Theory

Purgatory Throughout History
(a bunch of this borrowed from Wikipedia...)

In the 4th century, Gregory of Nyssa wrote regarding purgatory:

"When he has quitted his body and the difference between virtue and vice is known he cannot approach God till the purging fire shall have cleansed the stains with which his soul was infested. That same fire in others will cancel the corruption of matter, and the propensity to evil."

It is a place where those who have sinned, have recognized this fact, yet have not fully atoned go in order to complete this atonement.  Once that is done they are allowed to move on towards Heaven.  It has historically been a largely Catholic doctrine, rejected by most Protestant denominations.

There are also other religious views of purgatory, from Judaism to Islam.  I think though that we'll stick to the Catholic view, if not merely to keep things simple, but because there are certain elements in the show which would suggest it.  We have Ecko's brother the priest, and his subsequent conversion.  We have the Mary statues (loaded as they may be) and we have the "virgin mother" Claire and her infant son....  Seems like that's where we need to go.

Purgaturio (again borrowed from Wikipedia)

After his trip to Hell and back, Dante and Virgil come to the "Mountain of Purgatory on the far side of the world." (OK, the island is on the far side of the world for us USers!)  It is a place where "those too lazy to repent until shortly before death, and those who suffered violent deaths await their turn to ascend the mountain." (Note the presence of the Volcano on the island.)  There is also a valley where "others[!] whose devotion to public and private duties hampered their faith" exist.  Could be the others, devoted to the "initiative" and all the weird goings on....

Seven Deadly Sins

Dante describes seven terraces, which correspond to each of the classical seven deadly sins.  Now I'll list them here, and see if we can match any of our characters to them....

1. Pride - Jack? Locke? Kate?  All three seem to be pretty high on the pridefulness scale.  Hard to pin down.
   
2. Envy - Charlie? Always envious of the fame his older brother had in the band....  Purging this requires having one's eyes sewn shut, and "wearing clothing that makes the soul indistinguishable from the ground."  Charlie's had his head in a sack, and he seems to be particularly grubby most of the time.
   
3. Wrath - Also a tough one.  Could be Saied, could be Ana Lucia.  More so the latter due to her executing the person who shot her.
   
4. Sloth - Michael?  I can't seem to pin anyone to this inparticular.  Could be him as he didn't amount to all that much in life...  Comments?  Could have been Shannon as well, but she didn't seem to do anything to counter that....
   
5. Avarice - Sawyer. He's the one constantly hoarding and "acquiring" everything.  It makes perfect sense.
   
6. Gluttony - Most likely Hurley.  Again, makes perfect sense.  In order to escape this terrace, you had to abstain from food or drink, which is where he's headed.
   
7. Lust - Boone and Shannon?  They had their little affair, and now it would seem both have "moved on" if this theory is true.
   

Of interesting note is the purging process for wrath, which is "walking around in acrid smoke."  Like thick black smoke perhaps?

The Support

Let's examine the main characters who have moved on, and how it happened.

1. Boone - (Going back a ways so memory might be sketchy)  Boone's Lust for Shannon was the culprit here, and he seemed to overcome it by realizing there were more important things at stake.  His ultimate demise by attempting to retrieve the radio from the plane in a somewhat-selfless act let him off the hook.  Eh, maybe not.... *shrug*
   
2. Shannon - Lust or Sloth or Envy? I'm having a hard time pinning her sins down.  Maybe it was the fact her Lustful nature finally turned from that into real feelings for Saied, allowing her to get over Boone.  The method of her death seemed irrelevant I think.
   
3. Ana Lucia - Her case seemed to be pretty straight forward.  She acted out of wrath by executing her shooter back in LA(?)  She seemed to make peace with this, and was on her way back to face her punishment.  (seems to fit with the "almost atoned" bit) Of course she was the one who killed Shannon, again out of wrath, this time directed at the "others."  When presented with the opportunity to once again act out of wrath, she could not, and had seemingly reconciled her wrathful nature.  The fact Michael was the one who "took her out" is irrelevant.  Although it is interesting she would allow someone else to enact her wrath....
   

Of course the fact is we are all guilty of these to some extent, and pinning any particular character to a particular "sin" is up to the writers, who seem to have led us there.

Then there is the release of the "Gary Troup" novel Bad Twin, and Sawyer's reading of the manuscript on the island.  Part marketing ploy/tie-in, part clue, as "Gary Troup" is an anagram for "purgatory."  That is no mere coincidence.

The Problems

The trouble with this theory is the fact that there are other characters who don't seem to fit this. (Jin and Sun, Claire/Aaron, Ecko, Rose/Bernard, Libby, Walt)  And there are other characters who have just up and died (moved on) without any apparent atonement (The science teacher's dynamite accident, the one guy from the tail section, the drowning victim...)

Additionally, there are too many other circumstances and happenings which cloud things.  The hatch, Desmond, the others, Rousseau, the Black Rock, the airplane, Walt, the polar bear, the horse, the map, the supply drop, the cable.  On and on.  How do all of these fit in?  They seemingly don't.  Unless I'm missing something.

And the coincidences that have yet to be explained.  Kate's possession of the airplane toy that matches the downed drug plane.  The polar bear from Walt's comic book.  The "small world" situation where everyone seems to have crossed paths in the past.

My Theory

I look at it this way.  I don't believe they are all *actually*,  really dead.  I think the purgatory metaphor is valid, but only to delve into our characters and how they are "atoning" for past misdeeds and circumstance.  It's just that, a metaphor.

With any luck, tonight's episode, "?" will shed a little more light on things, particularly Locke and Ecko.

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