Catalina de Erauso: On Playing Gender Roles

In Spain and the Spanish colonies in South America in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, gender roles were distinct and the opportunity gap was enormous. Catalina de Erauso compares the two roles through her memoir, “Lieutenant Nun,” where she recounts her life as a transvestite in both the new and old world. Through having experienced the structured life of a woman as well as the freedom involved in being a man, de Erauso formed an identity for herself that crossed the boundaries of both genders. Catalina de Erauso’s life demonstrates the gap in freedom and opportunity for women, as compared to men, in the areas of culture, politics and economy, and religion.

Even the broadness of traditional Spanish culture could not remain untouched by the divide of gender roles. Though de Erauso was a Basque born in Spain, putting her at the top of the hierarchy, the fact that she was a woman lowered her societal ranking (Lecture 2/4/2014). The first step in de Erauso’s transformation from woman to man involved stepping over the divide in cultural roles and changing her clothing from one style to another. As a woman, she wore a bodice and petticoat, but in order to disguise herself as a man, she cut these items into a pair of breeches, a doublet and hose (Erauso, 4). This shows that her transformation involved not only a psychological change, but a physical costume as well. Another large part of Spanish culture that impacted de Erauso on both ends was the tradition of marriage. As de Erauso dodged potential marriages throughout her journey, the weight of matrimony became clear. Young women wanted to marry a successful, capable man because the title of wife entailed a step up in the societal hierarchy. In one potential marriag...

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Men and women were held under drastically different expectations in Spain and the Spanish colonies in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. These set gender roles are effectively demonstrated through the life of Catalina de Erauso, who experienced the entire spectrum through her adventures as a transvestite in this time period. Opportunities and freedom in culture, politics and economy, and religion varied greatly between men and women. Men were capable of living out their lives independently and ambitiously. Women, on the other hand, were taught to be reliant and mild-mannered characters in the background. De Erauso shatters this idea of a woman’s role by fulfilling a life of adventure and power. In doing so, she briefly dispels the obligations of gender roles, if only for herself. Catalina de Erauso was a nun, a lieutenant, and a history-maker.