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The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila: A Biography
The life and many afterlives of one of the most enduring mystical testaments ever written
The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila is among the most remarkable accounts ever written of the human encounter with the divine. The Life is not really an autobiography at all, but rather a confession written for inquisitors by a nun whose raptures and mystical claims had aroused suspicion. Despite its troubled origins, the book has had a profound impact on Christian spirituality for five centuries, attracting admiration from readers as diverse as mystics, philosophers, artists, psychoanalysts, and neurologists. How did a manuscript once kept under lock and key by the Spanish Inquisition become one of the most inspiring religious books of all time?
National Book Award winner Carlos Eire tells the story of this incomparable spiritual masterpiece, examining its composition and reception in the sixteenth century, the various ways its mystical teachings have been interpreted and reinterpreted across time, and its enduring influence in our own secular age. The Life became an iconic text of the Counter-Reformation, was revered in Franco's Spain, and has gone on to be read as a feminist manifesto, a literary work, and even as a secular text. But as Eire demonstrates in this vibrant and evocative book, Teresa's confession is a cry from the heart to God and an audacious portrayal of mystical theology as a search for love.
Here is the essential companion to the Life, one woman's testimony to the reality of mystical experience and a timeless affirmation of the ultimate triumph of good over evil.
The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila is among the most remarkable accounts ever written of the human encounter with the divine. The Life is not really an autobiography at all, but rather a confession written for inquisitors by a nun whose raptures and mystical claims had aroused suspicion. Despite its troubled origins, the book has had a profound impact on Christian spirituality for five centuries, attracting admiration from readers as diverse as mystics, philosophers, artists, psychoanalysts, and neurologists. How did a manuscript once kept under lock and key by the Spanish Inquisition become one of the most inspiring religious books of all time?
National Book Award winner Carlos Eire tells the story of this incomparable spiritual masterpiece, examining its composition and reception in the sixteenth century, the various ways its mystical teachings have been interpreted and reinterpreted across time, and its enduring influence in our own secular age. The Life became an iconic text of the Counter-Reformation, was revered in Franco's Spain, and has gone on to be read as a feminist manifesto, a literary work, and even as a secular text. But as Eire demonstrates in this vibrant and evocative book, Teresa's confession is a cry from the heart to God and an audacious portrayal of mystical theology as a search for love.
Here is the essential companion to the Life, one woman's testimony to the reality of mystical experience and a timeless affirmation of the ultimate triumph of good over evil.
280 pages, Hardcover
Published June 11, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 30, 2025
Summary: An account both of St. Teresa’s life and of her autobiography recounting her encounters with the divine.
The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila, or as it is often known, the Vida, is one of the great works onf the spiritual life, tracing the religious progress of Saint Teresa of Avila and her encounters, some quite ecstatic, with God. It was so controversial at the time that it was not published for two decades. In this volume of the Lives of Great Religious Books. Carlos Eire not only offers an account of her life and the composition of the book. He also traces its after-history of reception and interpretation, down to the present.
Eire begins with her life story. He emphasizes the place of good books in her life. She entered the convent at age twenty and nearly died of an illness. However, it would be another twelve years of convent routines before Teresa’s transformation. This came when venerating a new image of Christ brought to the convent. From here, she rapidly evolved into a mystic, experiencing instances of union with God that included visions, raptures and even levitations. Eire also notes the influences of other mystics, including Francis Borgia and Pedro de Alcantara. This awakening resulted not only in mystical experiences of union with God, but a series of writings beginning with the Vida, and her leadership of efforts to reform the Carmelite order, resulting in establishing the Discalced Carmelites.
The origin of the Vida was less her desire to get her story out than a directive of her spiritual advisors, a kind of confession to answer questions about her experiences. This was the time of the Spanish Inquisition. Her unusual experiences raised eyebrows. It was fascinating to see how the work developed under her advisors oversight, which she heeded, which probably saved her from outright condemnation as a heretic. She had both defenders and opponents. She both remained free while the Inquisition succeeded in suppressing her work.
Eire then walks us through the content of the Vida. He sets the book in the context of her reading. He also discusses major themes, including mental prayer, the Four Waters, the prayers of quiet and union, and mystical phenomenon.
Then he turns to the afterlife of the Vida. Teresa died in 1582. He discusses both the lingering opposition to the work and its spread, including numerous translations. He also traces the representation of the Vida in art, which underscored the rapturous character of some of her experiences. The final chapters explore her treatment in modernity and in post-modern criticism. This includes those skeptical of her accounts, those who psychoanalyzed her experiences, and even Spanish fascists who sought to appropriate her for their cause. The book concludes with her elevation as a Doctor of the Church by Paul VI. Eire notes how her treatment as doctor orationis (Doctor of Prayer) remains in conflict with modern and post-modern readings of her life.
I’ve read Teresa’s Interior Castle but not the Vida. Eire’s account made me want to do so. And his commentary makes this an ideal companion that I’ll want to have on hand should I do so.
The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila, or as it is often known, the Vida, is one of the great works onf the spiritual life, tracing the religious progress of Saint Teresa of Avila and her encounters, some quite ecstatic, with God. It was so controversial at the time that it was not published for two decades. In this volume of the Lives of Great Religious Books. Carlos Eire not only offers an account of her life and the composition of the book. He also traces its after-history of reception and interpretation, down to the present.
Eire begins with her life story. He emphasizes the place of good books in her life. She entered the convent at age twenty and nearly died of an illness. However, it would be another twelve years of convent routines before Teresa’s transformation. This came when venerating a new image of Christ brought to the convent. From here, she rapidly evolved into a mystic, experiencing instances of union with God that included visions, raptures and even levitations. Eire also notes the influences of other mystics, including Francis Borgia and Pedro de Alcantara. This awakening resulted not only in mystical experiences of union with God, but a series of writings beginning with the Vida, and her leadership of efforts to reform the Carmelite order, resulting in establishing the Discalced Carmelites.
The origin of the Vida was less her desire to get her story out than a directive of her spiritual advisors, a kind of confession to answer questions about her experiences. This was the time of the Spanish Inquisition. Her unusual experiences raised eyebrows. It was fascinating to see how the work developed under her advisors oversight, which she heeded, which probably saved her from outright condemnation as a heretic. She had both defenders and opponents. She both remained free while the Inquisition succeeded in suppressing her work.
Eire then walks us through the content of the Vida. He sets the book in the context of her reading. He also discusses major themes, including mental prayer, the Four Waters, the prayers of quiet and union, and mystical phenomenon.
Then he turns to the afterlife of the Vida. Teresa died in 1582. He discusses both the lingering opposition to the work and its spread, including numerous translations. He also traces the representation of the Vida in art, which underscored the rapturous character of some of her experiences. The final chapters explore her treatment in modernity and in post-modern criticism. This includes those skeptical of her accounts, those who psychoanalyzed her experiences, and even Spanish fascists who sought to appropriate her for their cause. The book concludes with her elevation as a Doctor of the Church by Paul VI. Eire notes how her treatment as doctor orationis (Doctor of Prayer) remains in conflict with modern and post-modern readings of her life.
I’ve read Teresa’s Interior Castle but not the Vida. Eire’s account made me want to do so. And his commentary makes this an ideal companion that I’ll want to have on hand should I do so.
November 8, 2022
Carlos Eire strikes me as the kind of guy who thinks that copping criticism from 'both sides' means you're right, so he'll be glad to see that a previous reviewer criticizes him for claiming Teresa is a queer messiah, and I'll be criticizing him for pretty much the opposite. This is... not a great book, just much harder to get through than most entries in this series, and largely because Eire is not, as the previous reviewer seems to believe, part of the Deep State out to undermine all that is good and holy, but because Eire is a pretty conservative, pretty diligent scholar, writing about the exact opposite of a conservative, diligent scholar. Teresa really needs someone with a bit more fire in the belly, I think, although credit where it's due, Eire really does seem to try to read the people he disagrees with, like Kristeva.
January 6, 2020
Biased and sensationalist attempt at portraying St. Teresa as a queer or lesbian fighting the patriarchy. The omission of recognized Teresian scholars was an early sign that this book was trouble. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
August 22, 2020
Just a phenomenal read on the Vida of St. Teresa of Avila. It offers a profound and guided view to an extremely important Christians spiritual text.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews