St. Teresa of Avila's The Interior Castle is widely regarded as a masterpiece concerning mystical prayer. I chose it as the subject of one of my Master's essays because I was intrigued especially by its images, especially the crystalline appearance of the castle and the mansions, nested inside each other like a palmito shrub, such that as one progresses further and further inwards illumination increases until one reaches the source of brightness found at the very centre.
I'm using the English translation by E. Allison Peers, as published in the Spiritual Masters series by Sheed & Ward, 1974. It feels a very good translation, with helpful footnotes, but it has no index. As it is the images I'm particularly interested in, I've generated my own image index, far from complete, but it does at least give a sense of the variety and relative preponderance of certain themes. I'd be happy if others find it useful. (There is available online an alternative translation by the Benedictines of Stanbrook that does have a general index and it's more useful in that it indicates Mansion number and chapter - I may edit the index here along these lines at some point.)
Index to Images
- angels 81
- animals 4, 10
- apartments 89
- arrow 124
- basin 44,93,94
- beauty 11,30
- bee 8
- bird 28
- bite 15
- black cloth 6
- body 15,37,50,148
- breast 45
- bride 143
- building 7,16,54
- bullet 96
- butterfly 53,54,124,136
- camarin 89
- castle 1,3,11,138,147
- cellar 52
- colours 9
- conduit 36,43
- court[yard] 3
- creatures 3
- cross 58
- crucible 38
- crystal 1,2,6
- darkness 6,122-3,
- diamond 1,2, 115
- door 3,47,90,134
- dove 143
- drunk/intoxicated person 102
- dust 10
- exile 2
- eyes 10
- file 11
- fire 77,106,124,125
- food 54
- fountains 36,44
- fragrance 78
- friend,companion 15,16,66,132
- gold 38
- gun 96
- haven 103
- heart 32
- hedgehog 41
- home 17
- inhabitants 6,76
- jewel (pearl etc) 48,97,114
- king, majesty 1,2,86,138
- letter 141
- light 10,115,130,131,132,135
- lightning 124
- lover 15
- mansion(s) 1,30,122
- marriage,betrothal 86,90,130,134
- mill 35
- mirror 7
- mother 45
- movement 93,95,96
- mulberry bush 53
- neighbour 13
- painting (Static and moving)115,118
- palace 89,122
- palmito 7,8
- Passion 104,107
- personnel (butlers, governors, stewards) 6
- petition 143
- engagement, pre-nuptials 64,65
- refuse (rubbish) 44
- relationship 123,140,146
- reliquary 114
- reptiles or lizards 3,49
- road 26
- room 8 ,132
- sea 126
- seal 57
- shutters 132
- silk 54
- silkworm 53
- slave 4
- sound 11,76,79
- spouse 76-
- spring 6,36,44
- stomach 148
- storm 143
- stream 6,136
- sun, sunshine 6,7, 10, 115
- tears 100
- thirst 125
- tortoise 41
- treasure 4,48,90
- tree 6,7
- viper 15
- visions 88
- voice/words/locutions 79-85
- wall 2
- water 36,37,43,44,93,94, 125,126,136,143
- wealth 21
- window 135,
- wound 77,124,127
- youth or child 16, 21, 45
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