The Visionary Life of Madre Ana de San Agustin (review)

During the last twenty years or so literary scholars and historians have been active in "rediscovering" the abundant writings of late medieval and early modern religious women. Many of these texts were never published, or were printed in single editions, their authors virtually forgotten over the centuries. Such was the case with the Spanish nun Ana de San Agustín (1555–1624), who dictated two autobiographical narratives, or Relaciones, between 1606 and 1609. Now, thanks to the careful editorial effort of Elizabeth Teresa Howe, these two manuscripts from Madrid's Biblioteca Nacional are available to scholars in an attractive book. Howe has performed an important service, as Ana's story sheds fascinating light on the spiritual currents and institutional conflicts of her day.

By the tender age of 13 Ana de Pedruja had become aware of the new Discalced Carmelite Order, and soon became acquainted with its founder, Teresa of Avila. Ana entered the order in 1575, joining an exceptional group of women among the first Discalced Carmelite nuns. She would dedicate the remainder of her life to upholding Teresa's ideal of female monastic reform, particularly in the houses at Villanueva de la Jara and Valera de Abajo, which she helped to found and in which she played crucial administrative roles. And like Teresa, Ana often experienced visions. Her superiors and confessors thus ordered her to record the details of her complex, sometimes disturbing, at times amusing interior life.

Howe includes a number of aids for understanding these texts. Foremost among them is her clearly-written and insightful introduction, situating Ana's Relaciones in the tradition of Christian visionary writing, especially by women, the early history of the Discalced Carmelite Order, and the extraordinary impact of Teresa's life and works on her spiritual daughters, and eventually, on religious women generally. She also provides a useful chronology of events in the life of Ana and her order, a bibliography of primary and secondary sources, explanatory notes throughout the transcription, and sixteen wonderful illustrations. Scholars of religious life in early modern Spain will welcome this edition and applaud Elizabeth Teresa Howe for restoring Ana de San Agustín to her rightful place in "la herencia teresiana" (the legacy of St. Teresa). I only hope that a translation will follow, so that readers of English too can come to appreciate Ana, her visions, her struggles, and her steadfast commitment to Teresa as a source of authority for women in the religious life.