Teresa of Avila and the Rhetoric of Femininity

Teresa of Avila and the Rhetoric of Femininity

by Alison Weber

183 pages· 1996· ISBN 9780691027449
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On an October evening in 1614 Spanish "galleons" and fiery "serpents" burst into flame in the skies above Madrid. Tolling church bells contributed to the din of the exploding fireworks as the entire city celebrated the beautication of Teresa de Jesus, the nun from Avila. Grandees, noblemen, ambassadors, and the king himself attended a mass in her honor. In the cathedral the nun's image was depicted with thousands of silk flowers: in one hand she held the palm leaf representing her virginity, in her other hand a golden pen that symbolized her eloquence. Poets vied with each other writing sonnets in a literary joust presided over by the popular playwright Lope de Vega. Similar celebrations with fireworks, bonfires, plays, bullfights, and processions continued for days in the towns where Teresa was revered as the saintly reformer of the Carmelite order.

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