She sites surrender to the will and calling of God as the only defense against those attacks. Along with the sharpening of the intellect that comes with this increased understanding, however, come vicious attacks from the enemy of souls to try to deceive and pull back into the world a soul who is beginning to find wisdom beyond it. It is not an audible call until much later, but comes through words spoken by teachers, friends, or that come in study.

The second dwelling differs from the first in that, while the soul is in deaf and dumb observation in the first dwelling, in the second she (as she refers to all souls, since she is addressing her sisters in the convent) is able to recognize the calling voice of God. She emphasizes, however, how important it is the soul remember how worthwhile getting through into the rest of the castle is, and so encourages perseverance through this temptation-riddled exploration. She also talks about how much the temptations of the world, described as serpents and reptiles, can still easily distract a soul in this very exterior place. She describes the value of moving beyond rote, prescribed prayers written by other people and beginning a soul-revealing conversation with one's Creator. The first dwelling is the one in which the individual first recognizes there is a castle to be explored and enters its doors by beginning prayer and self-examination. There are seven levels, referred to as dwellings, each one closer to the heart of God and further from attachment to the things of this world, each one involving both blessing and struggle.

She is, however, given a vision of how such a thing might be explained, and so uses the analogy of a castle to describe the depths of intimacy with God that the human spirit passes through over a lifetime dedicated to prayer and contemplation. It was to be a work on the subject of prayer, and throughout the book, Teresa talks about how intimidated she is to be writing on such an expansive topic.

Teresa of Avila's The Interior Castle was written in obedience to an assignment given her by the spiritual leaders in her monastic order, and was completed in 1577.

Teresa of avila mansions