According to Scartazzini, Beatrice is
the symbol of the Papacy. Gietmann denies the historicity of Beatrice
and declares that she typifies the Church. The argument for this theory
expressed by a sympathetic reviewer of Gietmann's book, "Beatrice, Geist
und Kern der Danteshen Dichtung," follows: "Beatrice is the soul and
center of the poet's works, his inspiring genius, the ideal which moulds
his life and character. If we consider her as a mere historical
personage we must look upon those works as silly and meaningless
romances, and on the poet himself as a drivelling day-dreamer.
"But if we are able to assign to Dante's beloved an appropriate and
consistent allegorical character, in keeping with the views of the
poet's time, and with the quality of the varied material which goes to
build up his poetic structures, his creations will appear not only
intelligible and natural, but unfold a treasure of thought and beauty
nowhere else to be found, while the poet himself will be shown to be not
only one of the greatest masters of thought and imagination, but one of
the noblest and loftiest minds to be met with in the history of letters"
(John Conway, Am. Cath. Quar. Review, April, 1892).
The editor of the English Quarterly Review (July, 1896, p.
Pages:
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93