Teresa of Avila and the Rhetoric of Femininity Alison Weber.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weber, Alison.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Teresa de Jesús.

Femininity.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 183 pages)

Edition:

[2nd print. and first paperback print.].

Place of Publication:

Princeton (N.J.) : Princeton University Press, 1996.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

A Note on Editions and Translations

Introduction

CHAPTER I Little Women: Counter-Reformation Misogyny

CHAPTER II The Book of Her Life and the Rhetoric of Humility

CHAPTER III The Way of Perfection and the Rhetoric of Irony

CHAPTER IV The Interior Castle and the Rhetoric of Obfuscation

CHAPTER v The Book of Foundations and the Rhetoric of Authority

CONCLUSION The Golden Pen

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [167]-178) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780691219622

0691219621

OCLC:

1273306903