Sacred Time and Space in the Vita Nuova
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âThe city where was born, lived, and died the most gentle lady.â (Vita nuova 40:1)
Dantes Vita nuova is an autobiography about the protagonists love for âthe most gentle lady,â Beatrice. Throughout the text, the author glorifies Beatrice and reveals her absolute sacredness, âHeaven, which has no other defect but to have herâ (VN 19:7). As the title of this essay suggests, the concept of sacredness also applies to time (âborn, lived, and diedâ are events in time) and space (âcityâ), which are continuous themes throughout the Vita nuova.
The sacredness of Beatrice is made apparent very early in the text. The Dante persona first meets Beatrice at the age of nine, and describes the encounter with Biblical language, âfirst appeared the glorious ladyâ (VN 2:1). In the same paragraph, he refers to her as a âyouthful angelâ (VN 2:8) and quotes Homer, Ăâshe seemed no child of mortal men, but of Godâ (VN 2:8). Some believe that this first encounter has reference to the first encounter between man and woman i.e. Adam and Eve, which was a sacred event (time) in a sacred space (Garden of Eden). In the third paragraph, Dante continues to portray Beatrice as an angel, especially by the language he uses. For example, he says that Beatrice greeted him âin her ineffable courtesyâ (VN 3:1) â the word âineffableâ is often used in reference to God.
Additional encounters between the Dante persona and Beatrice continue to take place in sacred contexts. The third encounter occurs in a sacred place, obvious by the mention of the Virgin Mary, âwhere one heard words about the queen of gloryâ (VN 5:1). In paragraph ten, Beatrice denies the Dante persona a greeting at a wedding, âdenied me her so dear greetingâ (VN 10:2). Not only is a wedding a sacred time and space, but a greeting or word(s) from Beatrice is considered sacred because Beatrice is a totality of sacredness. âAt the beginning there was the WordĂ and the Word was Godâ (John 1:1). Beatrice and thus her words are a manifestation of Gods Logos. The fact that the protagonist was denied Beatrices word(s) correlates with the fact that he has entered the profane realm at this time with his invention of a screen lady.
In paragraph 23, the author describes what is essentially his last âencounterâ with Beatrice, as he foresees her death