El vino prohibido: eucaristía, deseo y represión en la prosa contemplativa de Teresa de Ávila (1562-1582)
Facundo Sebastián Macías
Edad de Oro October 17, 2026 DOI: 10.15366/edadoro2026.45.017 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Contemplative writings of Teresa of Ávila and their circulation among lay believers in Counter-Reformation Spain |
| Key points | Argues that Teresa of Ávila's contemplative prose expresses a repressed desire to access the consecrated Eucharistic wine, a desire confined to an unnamed virtual space while the ecclesiastical prohibition restricting the wine to the officiating priest remains intact. Proposes that the circulation of her writings may have allowed this desire and its repression to circulate socially among fervent lay believers in Counter-Reformation Spain. |
Abstract
This article examines the contemplative prose of the Carmelite nun Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582) as an expressive space through which she reveals a repressed desire to access the consecrated wine in the Catholic Eucharistic ritual. Drawing on her writings, we construct a narrative that articulates this desire while simultaneously situating it within a virtual space. In doing so, the analysis shows how her desire remains confined to the profound place of the unnamed, while the ecclesiastical prohibition that restricts the consumption of the wine-blood to the officiating priest remains fully intact. Finally, the article suggests that, through their literary circulation and fluid contact with the secular world, Teresa’s words and writings allow us to glimpse how desire and repression may have circulated socially among the most fervent lay believers in Counter-Reformation Spain.