CHAPTER 16: Notes toward a Gendered History of Italian Literature, with a Discussion of Dante's Beatrix Loquax.

Chapter 16 of the book "Dante and the Origins of Italian Literary Culture," by Teodolinda Barolini is presented. It states that a broader intellectual context is needed for sustained analysis of gender in medieval Italian literature. It notes that the fictional character Beatrice from poet Dante Alighieri is considered by the latter as an allegory for illuminating grace.