A DIALOGUE WITH W. H. AUDEN
85
Virgin.
All the life of the painting centers in the uplifted hands of
the seated figure and the poise of the Angel.
It
is a symbol of spir–
ituallistening objectified in the slanting lines that strike the Virgin's
ear.
A:
Medieval writers emphasized the ear as the seat of instructive
spirituality. Many saints heard voices that inspired them and, at
moments of crisis, told them what to do. In the ritual of
confes~i o
the priest uses the sense of hcaring as a spiritual guide at the same
time destroying visuality. Monastic orders understand the superior
temptation of sight to sound or taste. For this reason they all ordain
as an
article of dress a cowl or headdress to restrict sight whereas
only certain severe communities forbid speech and none, of course,
prohibit the particularly innocuous sense of taste.
