Feminism in Sor Juana

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Feminism in Sor Juana

In Estela Portillo Trambley’s play Sor Juana the main character Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz was considered to be one of the earliest feminists. Sor Juana’s eternal struggles to study and unshakable craving for knowledge and wisdom, from whatever source it may be, support this attribute. In my opinion however, there are also significant elements of the play that suggest that Sor Juana would not be considered a true feminist. Of these reasons, there are three major ones that I will analyze. The first reason is that Sor Juana gave up her struggle for the acquirement of knowledge from books and settled for reading from religiously accepted writing, essentially giving up what she had been originally fighting for and abandoning her previous ideals. Secondly, Sor Juana only fought for herself and what she wanted to pursue. She did not fight for other women or in other political, economic, or social spheres. Finally, the play fails to identify how Sor Juana set any kind of precedent or example by accomplishing anything that women before her had never accomplished. In the remainder of this essay I will analyze how Trambley’s representation of Sor Juana is that of a woman concerned only with her own desires and also a woman that gave up her struggle for personal

rights that she had once been so motivated to attain prior to setting any precedent for women as a group.

One major reason that I do not consider Sor Juana to be the “Americas’ First Feminist” is that she gave up her struggle for what she originally wanted so badly. In the beginning, Sor Juana went through so much and worked so hard to learn and read and attain knowledge. She seemed so strong, looking past being laughed at and not taken seriously and continuing her quest to study. She began to give in and her original goals started to slip away. “… and the Church will let me learn.” (151). This quote illustrates how Sor Juana joined the convent to be able to learn because she was not allowed to learn otherwise. Sor Juana settled for life in a convent. She was then forced to live a stricter lifestyle and was limited in her reading materials. It seems she complied with little struggle. Then she felt guilty for having used God in the first place to help her achieve her goal. This led to the abandonment of her original purpose altogether. Sor Juana says, “My whole life was s...

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...hown to support the idea that Sor Juana accomplished anything that women before her did not accomplish. Sor Juana says herself, “I am only a woman incapable of changing worlds.” (184). This is also a main reason that Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, as she was represented in Trambley’s play, is not truly the “Americas’ First Feminist.”

In conclusion, the reasons I have discussed above are sufficient evidence to show that Sor Juana, as she is represented in Trambley’s play is not truly the “Americas’ First Feminist.” Assertive and intelligent she was, but determined to make any change to the inequality experienced by women by being anything other than a precedent she was not. Also preventing her from being a true feminist is the fact that she was unsuccessful in accomplishing something that no woman had done before. Sor Juana abandoned her struggle to follow her dreams of pursuing something that no woman had ever accomplished prior. She was also unconcerned with the plight of other women, only her own desires to pursue her dreams. Ultimately, becoming just another obedient woman following the constraints of society is what prevents Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz from being a true feminist.

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