The Works of Two 16th Century Women Religious Writers Through The Lens of New Historicism

Abstract

From American philosopher and psychologist William James to the 21st century
researchers of religion and spirituality, religious investigators assert that only religious
experiences can be studied and if at all, explained, whereas the existence of God cannot
be brought under the systematic study. Taking the cue from them, this paper compares
the works of two women religious writers of the 16th century, a Christian St. Teresa of
Avila (1515 - 1582) from Spain and a Hindu Meera Bai (1498 - 1557) from India, in

order to investigate the socio-cultural influences of their religious expression, rather than
focus on whether God influenced their works. Hence, it employs New Historicism which
emphasizes that social, political, religious, and economic factors of a given society
determine the literature it produces, to explore the socio-cultural underpinnings of the
two chosen bodies of literary work.