Teresa of Avila and the Rhetoric of Femininity

by Alison Weber

Celebrated as a visionary chronicler of spirituality, Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) suffered persecution by the Counter-Reformation clergy in Spain, who denounced her for her "diabolical illusions" and "dangerous propaganda." Confronting the historical irony of Teresa's transformation from a figure of questionable orthodoxy to a national saint, Alison Weber shows how this teacher and reformer used exceptional rhetorical skills to defend her ideas at a time when women were denied participation in theological discourse. In a close examination of Teresa's major writings, Weber correlates the stylistic techniques of humility, irony, obfuscation, and humor with social variables such as the marginalized status of pietistic groups and demonstrates how Teresa strategically adopted linguistic features associated with women--affectivity, spontaneity, colloquialism--in order to gain access to the realm of power associated with men.

Genres: History

194 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1990

Reviews

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful and interesting look at the rhetorical devices used by Teresa of Avila from a gender perspective.

[Rina · Rating 5 out of 5]

While heavily influenced by literary theory, Alison Weber's book remains an important piece in the puzzle of female religiosity in 16th century Spain. By framing Teresa of Avila in the rhetoric of femininity, Weber explores how Teresa subverted expectations for her gender, and even her gender. The first female saint to be named a doctor of the Church it would be expected that Teresa would act within the bounds dictated by confessors, priests and other male laity at that time. Ignoring even the wishes of her father to remain outside of the convent, Teresa eventually became an important spiritual and historical figure in Spanish Church History. Teresa's success is a surprise given that the Inquisition feared an ever growing threat from Lutheranism. Her "success" lies more in how Teresa waded the polemic of being female in a society that sought to clearly define orthodoxy and heterodoxy. Weber's work focusses on that polemic: ultimately the rhetoric of femininity. Teresa used her femininity to her advantage while at the same time challenging it by taking up the mantle of a leader, reformer and author. Weber's book argues that Teresa was successful in walking the line between orthodoxy and heterodoxy because of her rhetoric. Weber writes that "her rhetoric of femininity was self-conscious, alternatively defensive and affiliative, and above all subversive; it allowed her to break the Pauline silence. But her success also led to a self-subversion, for through her insistence writing she found the means to silence voices she did not want to hear" (16). Ultimately, Weber's exploration reveals key aspects of the successes of Teresa of Avila regardless of the threats she faced from the Inquisition as it straddled the line of acceptable theology. Any person seeking to understand early modern spanish Church history must read this book. By comparing the "success" of Teresa to those who found themselves under the scrutiny of the Inquisition one can better understand the problems that plague the theology of female mystics in Spain.