LITR 4231 Early American Literature Research Posts 2014 (research post assignment) Research Post 1

Elisa Cortez

March 21, 2014

Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz a Pioneer of Women Rights

          One of the most interesting writers that I have studied so far In Early American Literature is Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz.  What interested me the most was the type of poems that she was writing in a male-dominated era when women were not as educated as men were and their voices were not being heard.  While some information about her background is known, I wanted to explore more about her work and how was she able to educate herself and her desire to write poems about her discontent with the male-dominated world.  Most importantly I wanted to know if her work and background make her a pioneer for women rights while as a Catholic nun.

          Little is know about Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz’s background, only that she was born in Mexico in 1648 and was sent to live as a nun in a convent as a teenager.  During her childhood she learned to read and write at an early age; she was self-taught and learned to read books that were from her grandfather’s private library (Merrim xi). I began my search using Goggle Scholar as my main source for information about her and her views on women’s rights. I found several books and literary studies about Juana De La Cruz and her impact on feminism. I  was surprised to discover that she was considered to be a celebrity of sorts due to the fact that many considered her highly intelligent for a woman and were as curious to hear her thoughts. In Poems, Protests and a Dream: Selected Writings of Juana De La Cruz, I also discovered that she had written not only poems displaying her unhappiness towards a male-dominated society, but that she in fact also wrote responses to theological writings from other theological theses. In one of her writings she criticized a well-known theological thesis written by Father Vierya where she accused the Father of “misunderstanding Christ’s love for humanity” (Poems, Protest and a Dream).  

One of her most famous writings was called Respuesta A Sor Filotea - 1691, an intellectually written response to a critique of the Bishop of Puebla, where he defends her right to study and write artistically (Luciani 21). At this time in her life she had gained a following for her writing, something unusual for a woman and definitely for a Catholic nun. She argued that God had created her so she should have the same rights as a man since we are all created from God.  Her approach to convey her thoughts often came in the form of poems and responses to thesis, which lead to her being banished from reading once the Catholic church felt that she was to outspoken for a woman and especially a nun.  Many of Sor Juana De La Cruz’s poems, plays and other writings were intentionally written with the intent to be read outside of the convent.  This became a way for Sor Juana’s beliefs to be known, despite the backlash she had received (Kirk, Rappaport). 

          In Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz: Religion, Art and Feminism, Sor Juana clearly wrote with the intent to bring light to women’s rights the best way she knew how by writing.  Many of her works included profanity, which was considered very outspoken for a woman and a nun.  One of her many quotes, “One can perfectly well philosophize while cooking supper” ( Juana de La Cruz), speaks volumes to her ideals and her use of words to get her point across.  I had also discovered that a film had been made about her life in 1990 was entitled Yo, la Peor de Todas (I, The Worst of All), and was directed by Maria Luis Bember. It remains to me that Sor Juana was in fact a true pioneer for women’s rights.  After her death in 1695 from the plague, many of her works, poems and plays were published and still have an impact on women and literature.  I was able to find that she was not ordinary to say the least for her time and her works and subjects were often controversial at the time, but because of her intellect and ability to respond to criticism with words she was able to reach many people despite the church’s intent to strip her of her right to continue to educate herself. I do believe because of her stance she was a pioneer for women’s rights.

Works Cited

De La Cruz, Sor Juana. Poems, Protest and a Dream: Selected Writings. New York: Penguin Books. 1997. Print.

Kirk-Rappaport, Pamela. Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz: Religion, Art and Feminism. New York. The Continuum Publishing Company. 1998. Print.

Luciani, Frederick. Literary Self-fashioning in Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. Cranbury. Rosemon Publishing & Printing Corp. 2004. Print.

Merrim, Stephanie. Early Modern Women’s Writing and Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. Nashville. Vanderbilt University Press. 1999. Print.