He was married but had an emotional affair with a coworker and crossed some boundaries with women who sought his advice. He was a practicing Anglo-Catholic who studied hermeticism.
He was a Christian who considered Doubting Thomas his patron saint. His writings were often complex, much like his own life. Williams’ early death and struggles to market his work hampered his reputation.
Tolkien also considered Williams a good friend – in one letter, Tolkien stated it wasn’t easy remembering his conversations with Lewis and Williams “because we all agree so.” Charles Walter Stansby Williams (1886-1945) joined the Inklings during WWII and became one of Lewis’ best friends. One member has been especially under-discussed. First published in 1943, The Figure of Beatrice, which is as much a moving and poetic work in its own right as it is a stirring testament to the Sommo Poeta, remains a must read for all lovers of Dante.The Inklings, the 1930s-1940s writers’ group associated with C.S. Foreshadowing the modern emphasis on Dante as philosopher-poet, Williams also touches on many later concerns of Dante criticism, including ambiguities of language, the inherent self-contradiction of all truly penetrating discourse, and in particular the archetypal role of the feminine. He then plunges into and expounds on The Divine Comedy, meditating on its significance primarily through the affirmation of theological images. Williams begins by tracing the way in which the central image of Beatrice, representing transcendent beauty in feminine form, animates Dante's earlier works.
Charles Williams's Figure of Beatrice stands out amid the vast field of Dante scholarship for its uniquely sympathetic enthusiasm and clarity, which brilliantly unlock this master poet’s vast reach for general readers and specialists alike. Dante’s extraordinary intensity of thought and experience may well be unequaled among poets, but this very power can all too often make his work seem formidable to many readers.
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