Essay On Sor Juana De La Cruz

Colonial Women in Mexico

    During the colonial period of Mexico equal rights between men and women were far from equal. Women were to be nuns and practice the word of Christ or become a wife and bear her husband’s children. With this being said women did not have many options when it came to furthering their education or working outside of the home. One woman scholar named Sor Juana De La Cruz fought for her rights and freedom to study and pursue her writing career. “Born November 12, 1651, in San Miguel Nepantla, Tepetlixpa México, Juana Inés de La Cruz’s intelligence and scholarship became known throughout the country during her teen years.” With her options diminished to only two and with her continuing passion to learn,  she decided to become a nun. “She began her life as a nun in 1667 so that

she could study at will.

After taking her vows, Sor Juana read tirelessly and wrote plays and poetry, often challenging societal values and becoming an early proponent of women's rights.” Sor Juana was a wonderful writer and poetic genius who inspired many other young women to pursue writing. She became an inspiration of her time to many feminists and women's rights activists looking for equal treatment and recognition in this world showing that a women could succeed in a male oriented profession. Society had cut and dry gender roles during her time and she in a sense became a pioneer for altered thinking and helped initiate the feminist movement. “Today, Sor Juana stands as a national icon of Mexican identity, and her image appears on Mexican currency. She came to new prominence in the late 20th century with the rise of feminism and women's writing, officially becoming credited as the first published feminist of the New World.” Sor Juana was an influential piece of colonial history and her legacy has been shown

to hold the test of time.
    Another influential colonial woman of Mexico would be that of La Llorona. “The legend of La Llorona, Spanish for the Weeping Women, has been part of Hispanic culture in the southwest since the days of the conquistadors. The story begins with a young beautiful black hair woman named that of Maria. She had two sons with her husband who no longer loved her for as he had went back to being a womanizing alcoholic. “One evening, as Maria was strolling with her two children on a shady pathway near the river, her husband came by in a carriage with an elegant lady beside him. He stopped and spoke to his children, but ignored Maria and then drove the carriage down the road without looking back.” Angry with her atrocious husband after seeing him with another woman, she then went after her children throwing them into the river. Filled with jealousy and rage she had finally realized what she had done, but it was too late. Her children had already sunk and floated away down the fast moving river. “The beautiful La Llorona mourned them day and night. During this time, she would not eat and walked along the river in her white gown searching for her boys -- hoping they would come back to her. She cried endlessly as she roamed the riverbanks and her gown became soiled and torn. When she continued to refuse to eat, she grew thinner and appeared taller until she looked like a walking skeleton. Still a young woman, she finally died on the banks of the river.” Legend has it that her weeping helpless spirit can be seen at night wondering the banks of the Santa Fe river in search of her two lost children. I see the moral of this story as depicting that of a negligent mother. Maria could have continued to love and cherish her children without support of her husband. She instead saw it fit to sacrifice her own children for the wrong doing of one man.