The Female Figure in the Lives of Dante Alighieri and Gaucelm Faidit

Abstract

THE FEMALE FIGURE INTHE LIVES OF DANTE AUGHIERI AND GAUCELM FAIDIT Through our reading of Dante, we can obtain a better understanding of the troubadours who were among his literary ancestors. Though Gaucelm Faidit is not one of the poets whom Dante explicitly mentions as an influence, the Italian poetwas so imbuedwith French and Provençal culture that to start from our fuller appreciation of his art and to go backwards to any one of these predecessors is a logical step to take. The focus of our paper is the figure of woman-a crucial featureofDante'sworkmwhichloveandthepoeticexperiencego hand in hand with the lady as inspiration for both. Women play significant roles in the lyric, including the rimepetrose and their Lady Petra, through the Vita Nuova and Beatrice to the Divine Comedy, where several women play important roles-Beatrice again, Francesca, LaPia, Matilda themystic, SaintLucyandeven the Virgin Mary herself. In Dante's early works such as the rime petrose and the first part of the Vita Nuova, the lady as a physical being is important to the poet/lover. In theDivine Comedy, Beatrice has proceeded far beyond the realm of the physical to that ofthe imagination and the spirit. In between, we get a fascinating glimpse of the poet's workshop in the second half of the Vita Nuova, a pivotalworkin Dante's careerwhich gives crucial insight into the background of the poetic imagination, especiallywith respect to the role of the female figure. The title of this work tells us it is a story of a life-not simply a biographical account of Dante's encounterandrelationshipwith Beatrice onanearthlyplane.The scope ofthepiece extends farbeyond this totell ofthe progress of a poetic life-of Dante's apprenticeship until he reaches a point wherehehasgainedadeepunderstandingofhispoeticinspiration and craft. Dantehas afamous setofrhymesinwhichthewomanfigure playsaforcefulpart.These aretherimepetrose(Diehl, 166-187) in whichtheItalianpoetencountershisladyofstone,theLadyPetra. In his poetry to this strong-willed lady, Dante describes a sensual and physical passion. The keynote of the series of poems is violence.Thepoethastoputupaconstantfight. Heachievesafew moments ofexhilaration and peace, but pays a great price. What 34AlLEEN A. MACDONALD are we to make of these poems? Is Dante actually describing a personal love affair that he once had or does the lady stand for something a great deal more? Those who argue that the affair is real might look to Dante's greatest work, the Divine Comedy, to back up their argument. For it has been suggested that Dante is especiallymovedwhenencountering, in the course ofhis pilgrimage , three sins-those ofanger, pride and lust. Was then Dante a lustful man who sought the company of passionate women to indulge his appetites? We canneverknowfor sure, for ultimately there is no proofthat the LadyPetra really existed. She remains, however,avividpoeticcreationandmayhavestoodforsomething much more vital in Dante's experience as a poet oflove. If we look again to the Divine Comedy, we find that, for Dante, it was not only the sin of lust or carnal love which was a major preoccupation, but also the sin orweakness ofwriting love poetry. We see in Purgatorio that poets such as Dante's master Guido Guinicelli and the Provençal Arnaut Daniel must expiate theirsin ofwritinglovelyricsbeforethey cango onto tastethejoys ofParadise. The indulgence in love poetry and the culpability of the love poet are Dante's burdens too. It is very likely that this struggle of the poet is what we have in the rime petrose. The attraction of the beautiful and sensuous love lyric is hard for the poet to resist and, for a time, he cannot do so. Thus, the persona ofthe Lady Petra takes on a wider symbolism than merely that of a mistress. She is also the demanding muse of the poet, drawing him to write ofa purely physical love. That Dante was, for a long time, held enthralled by sensuous poetry may be glimpsed in Inferno V when, as poet and wayfarer, he can barely resist the charms of the lady Francesca. She, too, has been captivated by courtly love literature, especially the story ofthe adulterous passion of Lancelot and Guinevere. On simply hearing about their story, she found herselfcompelled to enter into a similar adulterousliaison inher ownlife-the cause ofherdamnation. ButDante, the pilgrim, already understands that the lady Francesca...