Teresa de Cartagena’s Feminist Rhetoric and Theology

Abstract

Teresa de Cartagena, a fifteenth-century dis/abled Spanish nun, is considered the first mystical writer in Spanish and the first defender of women’s intellectual rights. Having been accused of plagiarizing her previous treatise, her Wonders at the Works of God is a defence of her (and women’s) intellectual capacity and ability to know and understand God. This chapter argues that Teresa creates a feminized text using a series of rhetorical and interpretive strategies that sanction women’s voices and experiences. Ultimately, she turns Scripture, religion, and faith into sources of empowerment and liberation for women.