The Divine Comedy by Dante, Illustrated, Paradise [ebook]

Description

From the Earthly Paradise the narrator, together with Beatrice, flies to heaven, in the inaccessible height of mortal might. He did not notice how they flew up, and found themselves over the sun. The narrator is surprised that still alive he is capable of this; however, this did not surprise Beatrice: a spirit cleared spiritually, not burdened with sins is lighter than ether.

They are in the first Paradise – the Moon in the sky, which Beatrice called the first star, and they plunged into its depths. In its depths they have met the soul of nuns stolen from monasteries and forced to get marry. No fault of heir own, but still they did not keep the vow of virginity, and so they are not allowed to the higher heaven. The narrator is puzzled: what are they to blame for? It is not necessary to blame the victim but the perpetrator! But Beatrice explained that the victim bears a certain responsibility for done over her violence if resisting, did not show heroic endurance. The failure to fulfill a vow, Beatrice says, is almost irreparable by good deeds.