Lieutenant Nun: Memoir Of A Basque Transvestite In The New World

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UN women’s goodwill ambassador, Emma Watson once said, “we should stop defining ourselves as what we are not, and start defining ourselves by who we are”. An example of this quote is evident in the autobiography, Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World. During this time period, society and culture created gender roles in colonial Spain. They exemplified the “appropriate” behavior for an individual of that certain gender, giving males power in the household to do as they please, while women were to listen to society and follow the rules of her husband. Women had no freedom. The idea of cross-dressing was taboo.. Except to Catalina de Erauso. Throughout Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World, Catalina de Erauso cross-dresses to give herself the power to form a more masculine personality, which entails the freedom to travel. Moreover, this leads Catalina to run into situations where she is able defend her honor through violent acts.
After leaving the …show more content…

She understands the power society gives men and is determined to achieve what they have, at any costs.
The last example of Catalina protecting her honor with violence is when a companion at the gambling house claimed Catalina “lied like a cuckold.” (22) Again, feeling as if her honor was at stake, she “drew out her dagger and ran it into his chest.” (22) Readers can understand that with masculinity, comes violent behavior. With the force of her own determination to rid of the traditional feminine traits she learned, Catalina creates herself into a courageous, violent murder that will kill anyone who threatens her honor in the slightest

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