Some readers reactions to the Book of her life by Teresa of Avila according to the autograph

Abstract

This paper examines the few additions, deletions and corrections of the
autograph of the Book of Her Life (Libro de la vida) of Teresa de Avila found in the Biblioteca del Real Monasterio of El Escorial. This study reveals that the aspects of teresian writing that troubled her early readers fell into two categories: those that presented doctrinal problems and those that gave the textual voice authority, the latter problematic because Teresa was a woman. However, the care that inquisitorial readers took to make these corrections suggests that the Book was a work of collaboration between Teresa and the confessors and learned men who advised her, and with whom she frequently discussed spiritual matters. Therefore, the autograph may be considered the ‘final’ version of the Book.