Dante and the Blessed Virgin by Ralph McInerny (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 467 of one's own sinful drives. The conquest of Jerusalem thus becomes the attainment of sanctity, and with that come peace, harmony and bliss. Throughout this study, the glue holding these disparate texts together is their deployment of what Yeagercalls "crusade rhetoric:' This manner of speaking about Jerusalem contains two chief topics; on the one hand it represents "Jerusalem as heaven on earth, a literal dwelling place for humanity, a sacred object for adoration, and the rightful possession of western Christendom" (7); on the other hand it insists upon the presence of the Other, generally conceived of as Muslims controlling the country. These two points "offer a means with which Christian communities defined themselves collectively and individually, by representing their resistance to Islam, and support for Jerusalem" (7). In the course of Jerusalem in Medieval Narrative, Yeager applies the concept of crusade rhetoric to her texts, expanding and contracting its features to allow her to examine various modifications imposed upon the image of the Holy City. This plethora of diversely oriented texts submitted to a concept of "crusade rhetoric" -texts that may be at first unfamiliar to the reader-is also one of the slightly off-putting features of this study. Yeagerassumes that we are familiar with the content and circumstances of each work's production. The reader who is not will need to do some preliminary reading before being able to follow and appreciate her argument. I heartily encourage him or her to do so, for Yeager's study is enriching. It throws much light upon a corner oflate medieval literary and cultural history that is rarely examined. Jerusalem in Medieval Narrative will be of interest to the student of Medieval and Early Modern European History, of the History of Ideas, and of English, French, and Latin literature. Diane Louise Johnson Western Washington University Dante and the Blessed Virgin. By Ralph McInerny. South Bend: University of Notre Dame Press, 2010. ISBN 9780268035174. Pp. xvii + 164. $30.00. This little volume provides us with a close reading of the three volumes of the Commedia plus Vita Nuova, using Jesus' mother as a way to focus the analysis. It is an eloquent and moving expression of someone who devoted a lifetime to studying Dante. I learned of Ralph Mclnerny's death while writing this review, and while one is saddened that there will not be more works such as this from the author, one also looks fondly, even reverently, on this as his last word about matters of ultimate importance. His words here are a fitting coda to his life and work, and they will be appreciated by any who share McInerny's interest in the Florentine poet and who wish to search for truth together with such brilliant and generous partners. 468 CHRISTIANITY AND LITERATURE The book begins with a brief prologue that lays out the author's specifically Catholic perspective on Dante, and how that might offer a "privileged" (xi) perspective , one that has "continuity with his or her own beliefs and practices" (p. xii). A Catholic reader can appreciate Dante not merely in an academic or aesthetic way, but as a fellow Catholic, one who helps illuminate the faith they share. McInerny proposes a reading, in short, that is both learned and devotional. After a note on translations and abbreviations, McInerny moves on to a brief chapter that considers the Vita Nuova. Dante's idea and experience oflove are explored , along with the question that must nag any reader throughout this analysis: "So isn't it Beatrice, not Mary, who is the key to Dante?" (2). While I might be more inclined than McInerny to answer this in the affirmative, the joy of his analysis is how it invites us to consider how our interpretive choices say something about ourselves, and how other people's analyses can be fascinating and exciting, precisely because we had not looked at things as another critic has. Though I will doubtless fall back on my reading of Dante that is more centered on Beatrice than Mary, to see McInerny examine the poem in his way alerted me to points I'd missed or undervalued: he has made my enjoyment...