Moncada 1

Scarlett Moncada - Tutorial 11

Section 3, Paper 1

10 December, 2023

Tutor: Samuel Gillis Hogen

Discuss the role of power in Dialogue on the Infinity of Love

Within Tullia D'Aragona’s insightful Dialogue on the Infinity of Love, the intellect of a

young Italian courtesan flourishes in her rare access to the scraps of social and sexual liberty

allowed by her position. While by no measure can it be called freedom in modern terms, it is

important to note her advantageous position from a historical lens and ascribe this work to the

power Tullia expertly takes in her interactions with men. Scarcely before could women have

power enough to move through life unchaste and educated, with connections to support them.

The life of an honourable courtesan, while a largely inaccessible and coveted profession, could

provide just that. While not favourable in theory, when contrasted to the alternatives (nuns,

women chaste and unopinionated until married, etc.) the courtesan's life provides a considerable

amount of mobility. In the introduction to her article Private Lives and Public Lies: Texts by

Courtesans of the Italian Renaissance, Fiora A. Bassanese notes that “the courtesan was a

self-made woman, occasionally rising from the lowest classes to an enviable position,

overcoming the stigmas of poverty, illegitimacy, and ignorance” (Bassanese, 297). While it had

its labours and baggage (as all positions women occupy seem to attract) the “honesta”

(Bassanese 297) was arguably the attainable profession that garnered the most social eminence

for women at the time. Through the knowledge she gains from her position within a society
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pitted against her sex, her power is cultivated, appearing in her writing in a subversive and tactile

fashion. She subtly points out places within the debate that highlight commonplace practices that

undermine women, practices which are otherwise overlooked. The Dialogue on the Infinity of

Love works to argue the sexual and political freedom of women as both productive and

non-threatening.

The myriad of traits instilled in the ostensibly noble courtesans mesh to create women

with clandestine sway in their own affairs and that of the men they served. While they were still

treated as objects, they were objects of reverence and beauty, and if learned enough, respect.

Bassanese describes the courtesan as a combination of “entertainer, hostess, siren, substitute lady,

and prostitute” and navigates “fashion[ing] herself to reflect the characteristics of the dominant

group she serve[s]” (Bassanese 295). Tullia was learned in arts usually only praised when

attributed to men, yet through her position she makes them her own, retaining an outward

presence that is far from manly. Through this, she can produce an inward image for herself of a

confident noble lady able to lucratively navigate aristocratic society and to change minds where

she sees fit. Most ladies of the time did not have the flexibility of the “honest” courtesan, and “in

his journals Montaigne sets the figure [...] at 150 such women” (Bassanese 296). These

male-supervised standards were impossible for most, and Tullia understands her remunerative

arrangement, choosing to ground herself and her writing in it. From there, she can keep

conversations from straying to the purely theoretical, which Varchi has a particular affinity for.

She asks he keep his “bogus sophistry which is all the modern rage” (Aragona 60) at bay,

allowing her to remain the forewoman of the debate.

Tullia’s sense of self, amplified by her allowance in high society is paramount to her

power in the philosophical rhetoric of The Dialogues. Courtesans with the correct opportunities
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“turned to writing, literary criticism, or classical studies to gain distinction and, thereby, a

professional edge” (Bassanese 298), but Tullia takes this a step further by focusing her writing

on the merits of her perspective as a woman. The “stigma of prostitution, which, in her case,

seemed to besmirch what was considered the noble pursuit of literary studies,” still did not stop

her. Tullia’s position as a courtesan, while in practice can act contradictory to her efforts to

undermine the misogynistic inadequacies in antiquities philosophy, truly acts to heighten her

authority on her position; her experiences serve to validate her claims and give power to her

arguments. In the introduction to the dialogue Rinaldina Russel notes how she places herself in

opposition to the “conservative backlash” in Florence at the time as a woman both “sexually

liberated and accustomed to economic independence” (Russell, 22). Tullia removes the common

consensus of love, straining out predominantly male projections of eros and its role in

lovemaking, which “lead[...] poor, miserable women astray” (Aragona 75). She notes how it

subjects women to the objectification validated by male superiority, effectively barring female

voices from being heard. Tullia observes from both near and far, giving her pursuit of truth a

progressive flourish. Throughout the dialogue “she removes women, traditionally identified with

physicality and sin, from the marginal position occupied in men’s progress to spiritual life and

salvation” (Russel, 21). Tullia writes as Varchi saying, “we come from the same town but we

can’t understand each other” (Aragona 59) referring to a misunderstanding in the early stages of

the debate. This statement hints at the chasm that sits between Varchi’s male participation in

love, and Tullias' notably learned experiences of love both as a feeling and a transaction. They

both live within a society built for Varchi's masculinity by those with the same preconceived

notions, whereas she has the adverse privilege of a view from outside of that privilege.
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Instead of painting herself beguiling the men in the room with her intellect, or

self-effacing it to highlight theirs, Tullia turns the argument into her own territory. Not only does

she prove the infinity of love but, she calls into question every step she and Varchi took to get

there, subsequently changing the face of the topic at hand entirely. When the debate between

Tullia and Varchi harkens back to ancient times, Tullia mentions the love between male teachers

and pupils that famous philosophers of antiquity would engage in. Varchi attempts to validate

these relationships as “authentic” and “virtuous” (Aragona 96). Tullia remarks how these

lamentations of value between persons only arise at the mention of love between men. She asks,

“why a woman cannot be loved with the same type of love,” for Varchi (whether intentionally or

not) brings to the surface the underlying consensus of the time that Tullia unveils so as to “to

imply that women lack the intellectual soul that men have” (Aragona 97). Her inquisition into his

line of thought displays a deep understanding of the inner workings of rhetoric about love at the

time. In another minute squabble, Varchi prods whether “it is such a heroic feat to defeat a

woman” attempting to centre her sex in the opposition he is facing, but Tullia reminds him yet

again of the truth that he is “not in a contest with a woman. [He is] fighting against reason”

(Aragona 75), furthering the feebleness of his retort.

Her engagements with Varchi oscillate between endearment and reprimand, and despite

their polarizing exchanges, Tullia maintains the reader's understanding of the respect they share

for each other. Varchi takes pleasure in “praising that beauty, virtue, and refinement [...] which is

bound to be honoured, admired, and adored by anyone who has [seen] it for himself” (Aragona

56), appealing to the male pronoun to exemplifying the excellence intrinsic to both her intellect

and stature as a courtesan. It must also be noted though, that while it is a part of her profession to

appeal to men and their ideals, this does not impair her defence of women and their voices. Her
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position, while requiring her to entertain men for her livelihood, does not impair her from

attempting to point out male assumptions/projections in her work. The two speakers flip-flop

most when this attempt surfaces, but Tullia's reason ceaselessly prevails. Varchi ascribes

women's love with feebleness, complaining they “love rarely” and quoting a line from Petrarch

“love lasts but a short time in a woman's heart” (Aragona 69). Tullia comes back on the side of

Laura, Petrarch's muse, saying “just think what would have happened if Madonna Laura had

gotten around to writing as much about Petrarch as he wrote about her” (Aragona 69). In

pointing out one instance of silence, she puts the voices of all female muses centre stage, calling

into question their absence, and how that leads to Varchi’s ignorant observation. For the sake of

relevance, the subject is quickly glossed over, and the pair move on, and yet the seed is already

planted. Debates like these between women and men provide room, even in small instances, for

important questions to be brought to the surface. Tullia takes advantage of that, but only through

her profession is it possible for them to be heard.

Tullia D’Aragona’s genius comes from the coveted position that empowers her rich

intellect, a profession that in the timeline of her life was repeatedly threatened. Her works

display a snapshot of what life was like for a woman of such stature, and while it was not easy

for her, it gave her a unique opportunity to shed attention on the life of a sexually and financially

liberated woman (a rare sight in the renaissance), the result of which being deeply insightful

conversations where men and women can be put on temporary equal footing, and engage civilly

in productive philosophical debate. The power Tullia derives from her position is put on display

as something positive and healthy. Come the end of the argument, Varchi apologizes to the

gentlemen in the room, for Tullia has brought his fallacies to the surface and he risks a blow to

his reputation. He voices his fear of “being considered not just ignorant but presumptuous as
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well” (Aragona 104). Being a celebrated scholar himself, his scope is undoubted, and Tullia's

ability to beat him at his own game is thanks to her unique perspective; she effectively turns the

gameboard upside down. Tullia weaves her hard-earned influence in her favour as a thinker,

leaving a legacy sound in its impact.

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Works Cited:

Bassanese, Fiora A. “Private Lives and Public Lies: Texts by Courtesans of the Italian

Renaissance.” Texas Studies in Literature and Language, vol. 30, no. 3, 1988, pp. 295–319.

JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40754861. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.

d’Aragona, Tullia. “Dialogue on the Infinity of Love”, The Other Voice in Early Modern

Europe, edited and translated by Rinaldina Russell and Bruce Merry, University of Chicago

Press, 1997

Rinaldina Russel. Introduction and notes. “Dialogue on the Infinity of Love”, by Tullia

d’Aragona, The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe, edited and translated by Rinaldina Russell

and Bruce Merry, University of Chicago Press, 1997