Love may be blind, but Dante isn't : the development of the gaze in Vita nuova and the Commedia

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Erin R. Bass (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Denise Baker

Abstract: "In literature, the usual course of the othering process of a female character is for her image, as the subject of a male gaze, to become dissected and objectified so much that she is nothing more than a detached body. Traditionally, if the subject is found to be "lacking," or if she cannot be dissected, then the gazer may undergo distress. In the Vita Nuova and the Commedia, Dante Alighieri takes on the role of gazer, and Beatrice Portinari becomes his subject. By classifying Beatrice as a divine being both while she is alive and after her death, Dante creates tension in his own understanding of himself and the status of his salvation. This thesis follows the development of Dante's gaze through both works in order to show how the focus of his gaze moves from an earthly to a heavenly subject, and how Beatrice's image consequently parallels this development. "--Abstract from author supplied metadata.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 2006
Keywords
othering process, literature, female character, male gaze, Vita Nuova, Commedia, Dante Alighieri, Beatrice Portinari, salvation
Subjects
Dante Alighieri,--1265-1321--Criticism and interpretation
Dante Alighieri,--1265-1321--Divina commedia
Dante Alighieri,--1265-1321--Vita nuova
Dante Alighieri,--1265-1321--Characters--Beatrice Portinari

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