Self-management and Narrativity in Teresa of Avila's Work

Abstract

In this article, I propose a philosophical interpretation of Teresa of Avila’s The Book of Her Life as a point of departure for a consideration of the relationship between subjectivity and narrativity. The Book of Her Life reveals a tension between self-affirmation and humility, between Teresa’s attachment to the world and the detachment from the world as required by the ascetic path she chose to undertake; between her strong sense of self and her drive to renounce her own will. The ways in which Teresa resolves such tensions reveal a particular conception of the self as something one can shape by using ascetic techniques like ascetic humility, by practising rhetorical humility intended to create a public reputation, by engaging in public self-affirmation meant to promote one’s way of life (exemplarity), and by transforming the renunciation of one’s will into an acceptance of God’s will, which results in a consolidation of Teresa’s charisma and self-confidence.