Mystical Expression and Teresian Parallels in the Work of Sóror Isabel Do Menino Jesus (Portugal, Seventeenth–Eighteenth Centuries)

Abstract

The present study focuses on the Portuguese Franciscan nun Sóror Isabel do Menino Jesus (1673–1752), a religious of the Convent of Santa Clara in Portalegre (Portugal), and the author of several writings of mystical, ascetical, and autobiographical content. Two of these texts were selected as the object of study: the autobiography and the mystical treatise, which are examined in parallel with the Book of Life [El libro de la Vida] and Mansions [Mordas] by Teresa of Ávila. In the first case, the comparative analysis made it possible to identify certain parallels between the two religious women, particularly with regard to their family background, but also in the process of entering into contact with religious life and in the interior (and exterior) trials endured from the moment their mystical experiences began to manifest themselves. In the second case, through a more in-depth analysis of the ascetical writings, it was possible to discern certain doctrinal analogies in the way both religious women describe their experiences in the life of prayer, as well as their advances and setbacks along the path towards union with God. The article presents a cases study rather than a comparative analysis, which would exceed the scope of a single journal article. Its aim is to highlight the principal points of convergence between Sóror Isabel’s work and Teresian mysticism, thereby demonstrating that such affinities do indeed exist, including certain aspects of their personal biographies. The study has been situated within the broader context of Iberian mysticism, while also highlighting possible discrepancies in the mystical attitudes of the two women, arising, among other factors, from the temporal and geographical distance that separated them.