Piccarda Donati
Piccarda Donati (
Biography
At a young age, Piccarda fled her home in order to become a nun. She joined the Order of Saint Clare (also known as the "Poor Clares") in the convent of Santa Maria di Monticelli, located in the vicinities of Florence.[1] About a year later, Piccarda was forcibly removed from the monastery by Corso Donati, who forced her to marry Rossellino della Tosa for political interests, namely, to strengthen the alliance of the Donati with the Della Tosa family.
Some sources claim that she died of a sudden illness akin to leprosy before the consummation of her marriage, but this claim is now widely considered to be a legend.[2]
In Dante's Divine Comedy
Purgatorio
In Dante's Divine Comedy, we first learn about Piccarda during Dante's encounter with her brother, Forese Donati in Purgatorio 23. Here, Dante asks Forese in what realm of the Christian afterlife Piccarda can be found, and Forese promptly replies that Piccarda is in Heaven
Paradiso
Piccarda is the first character Dante encounters in
Through Dante's encounter with Piccarda, readers of Paradiso first begin to learn about the nature of Heaven. For example, we learn that
Dante asks Piccarda if she does not long to be placed higher in Heaven. Her answer (she does not wish to be higher) highlights another important point: according to Piccarda, blessed souls long only for what they have, and so their wills are entirely in agreement with that of God. If they desired to be higher in heaven, then their wish would differ from God's will, which is an impossibility. Though they know there are others in higher spheres of Heaven, they rejoice in their placement.
Interpretations of Dante's Piccarda
As with other prominent female characters in the Divine Comedy such as
When asked by Dante about the logic behind Piccarda's lesser state of beatitude, Beatrice makes a distinction between "absolute will" and "contaminated will."[3] Piccarda is an example of absolute will. Her will to keep her vow to God was so intense that it can be described as an "innermost will". This means that, internally, she remained pure. Another way to look at Piccarda's representation in Paradiso is that her vow was transferred from her head to her heart, thus actually preserving its purity. According to Dante, she serves as a case study to illustrate the strength it takes to ensure that a person's will is not contaminated by outside interferences and the importance of choosing God above all.
References
- ^ a b Pierson, Inga (2019). "Piccarda's Weakness: Reflections on Freedom, Force, and Femininity in Dante's Paradiso". Speculum: 25.
- ISSN 0014-5858.
- ISBN 978-1400031153.
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