Abstract

Paradise XXXIII marks the end of the itinerarium mentis in Deum, and it is here that Dante-pilgrim enjoys the visio Dei beatifica. This dissertation proposes to interpret the representation of God in the last canto of Dante's Comedy, Paradise XXXIII, through a close reading of this text and a consideration of its larger theological context. ;The first chapter is concerned with the declarations of insufficiency that fill canto XXXIII. God is an incomprehensibilis mystery, and two hypotheses are set forth: the declarations of human insufficiency function as a psychological preparation for the vision of God, and Dante-pilgrim's journey is interpreted in terms of desiderium Dei. ;The second chapter interprets the Dantean light in Paradise XXXIII, suggesting that Dante develops a theologia lucis. The primacy of God's Revelation is defined as "objective evidence", while faith is called "subjective evidence". The Light of God reaches the pilgrim, who is overwhelmed but cannot look away. The result is a "phenomenology of gazes", in which God-as-Light watches the pilgrim, and the pilgrim stares at God-as-Light. The pilgrim is not the creature-who-looks, but the creature-who-is-being-looked-at . ;The third chapter analyzes the theme of faith and the representation of the Trinity. One important hypothesis is to suggest an alternative reading of "Credo ch'i' vidi" , interpreted as a confessio fidei. The analysis of the representation of the Trinity begins with the vestigia Trinitatis in the Inferno, proceeds with the purgatorial dilemma voiced by Virgil , and concludes with an examination of the figuration of the Trinity in the Paradise. ;The fourth and last chapter begins with a survey of references to Christ in Dante's works, especially in the Comedy. In Par. XXXIII, 127--138, the dominant theme is the union in Christ of the two natures, human and divine. While Dante does not elaborate a "Christology", he closes the Comedy meditating on the dogma of the hypostatic union