Besides The Divine Comedy, Beatrice appears in Dante’s La Vita Nuova. Beatrice is a Florentine woman whom Dante meets in childhood and admires for the rest of his life. Dante never pursues an intimate relationship with Beatrice, but instead precedes in a state of courtly love from afar. Dante’s devotion to Beatrice, a mortal woman, transcends into a religious experience. Dante transfixes Beatrice into a deity and she can “gloriously gaze on the face of” God (Dante XLII).
Besides The Divine Comedy, Beatrice appears in Dante’s La Vita Nuova. Beatrice is a Florentine woman whom Dante meets in childhood and admires for the rest of his life. Dante never pursues an intimate relationship with Beatrice, but instead precedes in a state of courtly love from afar. Dante’s devotion to Beatrice, a mortal woman, transcends into a religious experience. Dante transfixes Beatrice into a deity and she can “gloriously gaze on the face of” God (Dante XLII).