<p>As a woman who claimed to experienced
supernatural phenomena, such as spiritual visions and raptures, Teresa of Ávila
had to face accusations of deception while confronting her own doubts of being
self-deceived. Both religious
authorities and visionary women in sixteenth-century Spain used the idea of
deception to either dictate or challenge the dominant religious discourse.
Ultimately, Teresa succeed at convincing ecclesial powers of the legitimacy of
her experiences, a mandatory step for her canonization. Other visionaries were
not as successful, and I analyze whether Teresa’s rhetorical strategies played
a role in ensuring her effective defense of the authenticity of her visions.</p>
This
analysis of Teresa of Ávila as a visionary woman who felt the need to confront
the problem of deception questions the usefulness of the traditional interpretation
of visionary women as either deceivers or deceived. I argue that deception has
traditionally functioned as a tool of sociopolitical marginalization, and that
rulers of public discourse have ignored or dismissed the voices of visionary
women. This work indicates the urgency of including their stories in the larger
discussion on the credibility of women’s accounts of their own life experiences.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/10315913 |
| Date | 20 November 2019 |
| Creators | Ana Maria Carvajal Jaramillo (7874012) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/NEITHER_DECEIVED_NOR_DECEIVER_TERESA_OF_AVILA_AND_THE_RHETORIC_OF_DECEPTION_IN_EARLY_MODERN_SPAIN/10315913 |
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