Chapter 3 Summary and Analysis

The third chapter, discussing the Second Dwelling, opens with a discussion of the distinction between the first and second dwellings. In the first dwelling, Teresa explains, the soul is both deaf and dumb, and is only just beginning to learn to pray. In the second, she is more aware of the temptations that will pull her away and of the good thing it is to turn away from those things. That knowledge, however, comes at the price of leaving behind the simpler first level and entering into a place much harder to navigate.

In the Second Dwelling, the soul is able to distinguish God's voice from the many voices vying for her attention, but is tormented by her lack of ability to carry out what He requests, still being so young and incomplete in her faith. She is still battling with...