IVANOV'S EXPERIENCE OF LOVE

So far we have considered two of the most important influences which affected Ivanov's spiritual ideal and approach to Dante: Dionysiac mysticism and Solovyov's teaching on Sophia. Both these systems stressed the importance of sexual love as the main means of transcending the limitations of the individual self and achieving mystical union with the divine spirit of the universe. Both Dionysiac Eros and love, in Solovyov's understanding of the term, were seen as cyclical experiences leading through sacrifice to ecstasy, through death to new life, through the physical to the mystical. This made it possible for Ivanov to merge the two systems into a single syncretic ideal, composed of both pagan and Christian elements.

The core of Ivanov's spiritual ideal was therefore the experience of love, and this was the main area in which he turned to Dante as a source of images for its poetic expression. Ivanov's understanding of the Hellenic periods in history had already led him to regard Dante as a major representative of his Dionysiac-Christian ideal, and Solovyov had also laid the foundations for the incorporation of Dante into the Sophiological tradition of mystical love. The fact that the theme of love was central to Dante's works was a further factor in making these a particularly rich source of inspiration for Ivanov; the Vita Nuova is the record of Dante's transition from the physical love of Beatrice during her life-time to the spiritual love of God after her death, and the Commedia describes a mystic journey inspired by the love of Beatrice and guided by the moving power of divine love.