Commentary Par III 58-63

Once again the nature of heavenly transfiguration is alluded to (see [Par III 47-48]).  Only after he knows her story can Dante begin to recognize the features of the earthly woman he once knew.  That even this much 'physicality' is possible is singular; Dante will not recognize anyone else whom he once knew or is related to and whom he meets in the various heavens, not Charles Martel (Par. VIII), not his ancestor, Cacciaguida (Par. XV).  From this, we may choose to believe that only here, in the Moon, is there even the slightest amount of physical resemblance of a soul to its earlier mortal self.  Dante, however, does not choose to raise (or to answer) this question for us.  But see [Par XXXI 46-48], where St. Bernard tells Dante that the heavenly infants are recognizable as such.

In 1981, Luisa Saffiotti, a student at Princeton, suggested the resonance of John 10:3-5 and 10:16, Christ recognized by His disciples by His voice alone.