Commentary Purg XXX 134

The sort of dream Beatrice prayed God to send Dante is probably well represented by the dream of the Siren in [Purg XIX 7-32].  That accounts for the first part of Beatrice's formulation, i.e., Dante was given negative dreams about his disastrous love for the wrong lady.  What about the second?  What God-sent 'inspirations' was she granted in order to call him back to loving her even after her death?  Scartazzini (DDP Scartazzini.Purg.XXX.133-134) offers a simple and compelling hypothesis (apparently silently acceded to by any number of later commentators, who make the same point without even a mention of his name).  In Vita nuova (V.N.XXXIX.1) Dante receives the image of the girlish Beatrice in his phantasy, the image-receiving part of his mind (one may compare the ecstatic visions vouchsafed him for the exemplary figures on the terrace of Wrath [and see C.Purg.XV.85-114]).  As he recounts (V.N.XXXIX.2-6), this vision of Beatrice had the necessary effect, and he resolved to love her yet again, turning away his affection from the donna gentile.  And then, Scartazzini continues, he was allowed the final vision of Beatrice seated in the Empyrean (V.N.XLII.1).  Thus, as seems clear, while Dante slept, God sent him dreams of what was unworthy in his love for the donna gentile; while he was awake, positive images of Beatrice.  If this program is correctly perceived, it matches precisely the mode employed to teach penitents on the mountain, positive and negative examples teaching what to follow and what to flee.  Unfortunately, even after such encouragement, Dante would fall again.  See C.Purg.XXXIII.85-90.