Synopses & Reviews
With few exceptions, representations of Renaissance women were created by men. The Spanish saint, Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), who chose to represent herself, was one of those exceptions. What prompted her to write
Book of Her Life, Interior Castle, and other works? What does the self-portrait of this sixteenth-century nun, mystic, and founder of convents reveal about its author, the church, state, and role of women?
St. Teresa of Avila, an innovative analysis of Teresa's autobiographical writings, explores these and many other questions. Bringing to bear a knowledge of Inquisition studies, theory of autobiography, scriptural hermeneutics, and hagiography, Carole Slade defines Teresa's writings as a project of self-interpretation undertaken mainly as the result of the perceived, later realized, threat of an accusation of heresy. Being female and of paternal Jewish ancestry, Teresa was vulnerable to such a charge.
Teresa's writing project presented her with serious difficulties. Judicial confession, her prescribed genre, presumed the writer's guilt, while the subordinate female script precluded a defense against the suspicion that her mystical experiences came from the devil. Through careful textual analysis, Slade demonstrates that Teresa exploited the nuances of numerous genreshagiography, New World chronicle, mystical theological treatise, and early novelto create an innocent textual persona and depict herself in heroic terms.
A signal contribution to our understanding of Teresa's rhetorical and literary talent and life circumstances, this book will engage readers across a broad range of disciplines.
Synopsis
"This study is substantive, subtle, compelling. . . . I am as persuaded by Slade's larger arguments as I am impressed by her close readings and interpretations of particular passages in Teresa's works."Thomas Werge, co-editor
Religion and Literature"Slade reveals a Teresa capable of captivating readers anew. Her book never loses sight of Teresa or her sense of self, even while it smoothly surveys the horizons of the early modern Spain contiguous to convent walls."Catherine Connor, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-197) and index.
About the Author
Carole Slade teaches in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University.