Wisdom and suffering in Teresa of Cartagena

Abstract

Abstract I argue that Teresa of Cartagena's Grove of the Infirm offers a recalibration of the wisdom emergent from suffering by moving from a cruciform spirituality to an intellectual ‘scientia,’ which benefits specific marginalized groups (prolonged sufferers) by establishing new paths of agency (through distinctive cooperative virtues) for those who suffer. I show that by disengaging suffering's spiritual meaning from the Franciscan focus on the cross, Teresa is able to amplify the relationship of virtue to wisdom while maintaining the validity of the painful experience endured. I argue that Teresa's focus on wisdom challenges the diminution of sufferers' experiences and elevates their spiritual wisdom as applicable to the church writ large. Teresa's work opens new spaces of agency for the most sidelined and secures the lasting significance of the wisdom of suffering.