Matelda ?a Lady Moved by Love? :: essays research papers

In Dantes Divina Commedia, he takes on a journey with unforgettable characters,from the poets from antiquity, demons, giants, and in conclusion too famous saints.Dantes and the character interaction with them ar what make this story. Theyare the legs on which this work was able to stand for so many old age as amasterpiece. It was the characters that I most enjoyed it this work, you findyourself loving and hating the different shades you discover during Hell, thepenitents of Purgatory and the saints of Heaven. The most developed characterswe find in Commedia are Dante, Virgil and Beatrice. to that extent there are several minorcharacters that if one looks more closely are just as interesting as our mainstars. One such(prenominal) minor character is my favorite Matelda, and also a perfectexample of Dantes brilliance in characterization.Matelda is a minor guide that eases Dante afterwards Virgil disappears, and untilBeatrice takes him to paradise (Cantos XXVIII- XXXIII). Althou gh Matelda may looklike a plain old static-stock character , her motives are pure, her actionsconsistent and she is plausible as a guardian angel typeface whose actions aremoved by the Divine love in her.Dante the Character at this point in the story is about to leave the worldliterally and to meet his love Beatrice (who actually yells at him for his sin,before taking him to heaven). He has been left by his faithful guide, Virgil(which he doesnt even notice at first has been gone for a few cantos) and findshimself in the hand of a loving and beautiful hands of Matelda.Matelda is a perfect guardian angel for Dante at this point in his journey, andfaithful to helping him during this transition. Are her actions consistent? Yes.all are in line with Divine Love. We see this trough her actions. We first meether she is the lovely creature that resides in the Garden of Eden. At Dantesrequest she explains all of his questions. She guides him through the Garden andthen washes him clean and h elps him to drink from the rivers of memories, allafter he gets reprimanded by Beatrice.All this is done out of Love, for it is ultimately Divine Love that motivatesher, motives that are pure in guiding her charge. For example Why are you sointent on looking only at those living lights? Have you no wish to see whatcomes behind? This encouragement will help Dante to move forward to his goal.Yet I think its her purity of motives that make her a static character because