Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Writer and Activist. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a renowned writer who was born in Spain during the 1600s. Sor Juana's ideologies and philosophies made a mark in literature that will last forever. She was a woman of the arts, a nun, and one of the first feminists of her time. She was also curious, and wanted to learn as much as she could. This paper will explore her life and how it affected her literary pieces, particularly Sonnet 146. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was born in San Miguel de Nepantla, New Spain, around the year 1648 (there is speculation about the exact year). She was born illegitimate to her Creole upper class mother, and Spanish captain father (Akbari). She lived in her mothers family home, and this …show more content…
She quickly found a love for books, and often went to her grandparents library. She advanced quickly with her education, becoming very ambitious and motivated at a young age. She self-taught herself most things, and pushed herself to learn new material. She learned to read by three years old, and write by six years old, something not even most adult women at this time could do. She learned Latin in about twenty lessons, and to motivate herself, would cut her hair when she didn't understand the teaching. At ten years old, Sor Juana moved to Mexico City and lived there until her death in 1695. She was a prodigy, and impacted the people around her, astonishing them with her intellect and beauty. She was a feminist and independent, something taboo for her time and age. As she grew older, she grew in the societal ranks (Sor). According to Tyrkus and Bronski, by age fifteen she was the most learned woman in Mexico. While still a teenager, she became a lady-in-waiting at the viceregal court (Akbari). Sor Juana loved to educate herself, read, and write. She wished for a …show more content…
Many times it came down to sex work, becoming a wife, or a catholic nun (Sor). At age eighteen, she became a nun to the Convent of the Order of Saint Jerome, and never left (Cortes-Velez). Becoming a nun gave her the safety and time to read and write, making a name for herself in the literary realm (Sor). Sor Juana was not the typical Spanish nun, whose preferred traits from the Church were to be humble, obedient, and hermits who stayed out of trouble. Through her writing, Sor Juana was active beyond the covenant, in political, economical, and societal aspects (Luciani). Sor Juana did not restrict herself to one type or form of writing, as she wrote plays, comedies, poems, and ballads, secular and religious alike. Quickly, her works grew popular and she even wrote for the royal court. However, with love comes hate, and her art and style was definitely on the controversial side. Not to mention, she also had the ability to undercut and frustrate male scholars. The hate for her new ideologies, coupled with other disasters like famine and floods, affected her towards the end of her life, as she blamed herself and renounced her secular writings, focusing on her religion
Dia de los reyes magos is on Jan. 5 - Feb. 2 and the day is about the 3 wisemen, But January the 6th is the special day in Mexico….. this day represents the height of the Christmas season. This celebration is where it is stated that the kings, Melchor, Gaspar, and Balthasar, traveled by night all the way from the farthest confines of the Earth to bring gifts to Jesus, whom they recognized as the Son of God. As well as regal, the Three Kings are depicted as wise men, whose very wisdom is proved by their acknowledgement of Christ's divine status. Arrived from three different directions, the kings followed the light provided by the star of Bethlehem, which reportedly lingered over the manger where the Virgin Mary gave birth for many days. In
The poet Rosario Castellanos challenges the belief of the patriarchal couple as she writes about the potential of women to be more than just a domestic worker. In her poem “Poesía no eres tú”, she counters the idea of women written in the poem by Bécquer “Rimas”. A woman is more than just physical beauty. A woman is valued by her skills and intellect, characteristics that are often oppressed by men.
The figures of Sor Juana and Catalina de Erauso are larger than life. They did things no other women (and most men) during the 17th century could have ever dreamed of. Sor Juana was a nun who, through her confined cloister, produced works of literature and theology that are now part of both the Mexican and Catholic Cannon. De Erauso on the hand roamed free, she abandoned her religious life and instead took up the garb of a man and set out for the New World. Both of these women did not do what women were expected to do. Sor Juana’s life in the covenant should have been one of quiet contemplation and De Erauso should have never left the covenant she was a part of. In addition not only did De Erauso abandon her vows but she attempted, and succeeded, at passing herself off as a man which allowed her to do things that, if her true identity was known, every apparatus available in the Empire would have brought her to swift justice. These women went against the norms of what was expected ...
Sor Juana de la Cruz is born into a wealthy family in 1648 that lived near Mexico City, Mexico. After being a part of the Viceregal court and a lady in waiting, Cruz begins her spiritual journey and joins the convent. Here, Cruz explores both secular and non-secular studies. She is an exceptionally talented writer with a passion for reading, learning, and writing. She is scolded for the information she writes and is told to focus exclusively on religious dogma. Soon after the Bishop of Pubela reads one of her letters, he publishes it (without her knowing), and she responds with a respectful yet sarcastic letter (Lawall and Chinua 155-156). Cruz’s “Reply to Sor Filotea de la Cruz” was written during the period of Enlightenment of Europe (1660- 1770). This era in Europe casted an opaque shadow over women’s rights to educate themselves and self-expression. Sor Juana’s piece however is both inspirational and empoweri...
Hilma Contreras’s most substantial honor occurred when she became the first female recipient of the 2002 “Premio Nacional de Literatura” (The National Literature Award) for lifetime work. Throughout her 93 years of life, Contreras published many literary works including, “Four Stories”, “The Bait”, “The Earth is Raging”, and many others. As previously mentioned, Contreras died alone in her hometown San Francisco de Macoris, leaving behind a life long legacy of
Sor Juana and Julia de Burgos did not simply stop at acknowledging the problem at hand. Rather, these two strong and powerful female figures made drastic strides in correcting the problems of male oppression and female subservience. Although from different regions of the world and from different time periods, the writings of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz and Julia de Burgos have influenced Latin American writers such as Rosario Castellanos and they continue to impact the feminist movement. Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz’s upbringing greatly influenced her character. In 1648, Juana was born illegitimately in the town of San Miguel de Nepantla, located southeast of Mexico City (Trueblood 2-3).
In Aristotle 's Nicomachean Ethics, the basic idea of virtue ethics is established. The most important points are that every action and decision that humans make is aimed at achieving the good or as Aristotle 's writes, “Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and choice, is thought to aim at the good... (Aristotle 1094a). Aristotle further explains that this good aimed for is happiness.
Rosario Castellanos studied not only Sor Juana Ines de la Cruzs’ works, but her life as well. Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz was a powerful seventeenth century Latin American woman. Growing up Juana was a huge reader to the point where she would hide in chapels to read her grandfather’s books. At the mere age of eight years old, Juana composed her first poem. In her early teenage years she was already an expert on Greek logic, and was teaching Latin to young children. This is ironic because she was a young child as she was teaching young children. Juana went as far as attempting to disguise herself so she could go to a university to study, but her family forbade her to do so. Instead of disguising herself, she simply studied in silence until age sixteen, but the silence would not remain for long....
Throughout the novel “The House of the Spirits” by Isabel Allende the reader sees many instances that exemplify the antagonistic nature of man verses woman. Through Esteban Trueba’s raping of many of the women at Tres Marias, his marriage with Clara, his relationship with his daughter Blanca and her with her lover Pedro Tercero Garcia and with Alba Trueba’s relationship with her lover Miguel and her Grandfather Esteban, much of what Allende wants the reader to know about the nature of man verses woman is exposed. Nature pits man against woman, in marriage, love, sex, work, and war. Women can choose their battles and fight them subtly, without really seeming to, because all women know that the men like to think they are in charge when they really aren’t, and that men will fight every battle just to prove that they are men. Triumph over a weaker opponent does not make men stronger. It only makes them feel powerful. Allende writes about women who are able to quietly persevere, always managing to get their own way, without seeming too, because they know the only way to keep men happy is to let them feel powerful and in charge.
? . . . it made no difference if they studied medicine or had the right to vote, because they would not have the strength to do it, but she herself [Nivea] was not brave enough to be among the first to give up the fashion.? (6, Ch 1) The women in this society are dependant on the dominant male figure to handle political and economical duties. This point of view is intended to mimic the older generation of women ad present a foundation for the growth of an enlightened generation. Allende uses this excerpt to present a foundation of structure to the novel by beginning with the extremes of opinion, which are followed in the novel through different generations. Alba for example, become a very outspoken activist by trying to attend the student protests and follow Miguel on his demonstrations, a sharp contrast to the indifference or shallowness found in her great grandmother.
Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz was born on November 12, 1651 to an upper classfamily in colonial New Spain. As a child, she exhibited a lot of curiosity for the world around her and people noticed that she was a child prodigy. She moved to the capital in order explore these intellectual pursuits and eventually joined the Jeronymite religious order to avoid marriage. During the 17th century, the clergy viewed women as the daughters of Eve and associated them with evil and sin. Thus, women needed to remain within the domestic sphere to live a godly and controlled life. Sor Juana entered the covenant to continue her intellectual endeavors because she could study a number of different subjects. However, she felt conflicted about the role of science and religion, women’s place in society, and a number of other issues. The clergy eventually forced Sor Juana into submission and she ended all of her intellectual pursuits. She eventually died of smallpox in 1695.
Lope de Vega’s play touches upon several key components and ideas that were brought up in many of the other stories read throughout the semester. This included the role of gender and how men and women are viewed differently in the Spaniard town of Fuenteovejuna. Another topic included the importance of family, love, and relationships and their connection on loyalty, trust, and personal beliefs. The last major influence found in other literature and in Fuenteovejuna, were the political and religious references made throughout the play. Even though Lope de Vega didn’t make these views obvious, the reader could still pick up on their connotation and the references made towards these specific ideas. With all of this in mind, each of these components played an important role in each civilization read, and even over 1,000 years later it continues to be a social topic as well as a large part of the culture. The only difference a reader or scholar could make for this particular piece of literature is its authenticity and how it was based on a true event. Regardless, new views on power and how one obtain it become apparent through the dialogue between characters like Laurencia and the Commander.
One of the similarities is the right to inherit property, and sell goods in the marketplace. She was under patria potestad until the age of 25, because she was illegitimate child, and her grandfather has passed away, she was sent to live with her maternal aunt’s family in Mexico City (2). Sor Juana wrote about the promise-to-marry plight of women in her poem Hombres necios que acusais describing how men seduce women and blame the woman for the indiscretion (5). Gauderman describes the Convent as an asylum for women to escape the life of a married women, which was exactly why Sor Juana joined a Convent (Gauderman 37). Sor Juana did not go to the courts for justice for women’s rights, she wrote about
Federico García Lorca’s poem “La casada infiel” depicts the story of a gypsy who makes love to a married woman on the shore of a river. When looking deeper into the poem, Lorca appears to provide a critical observation on the values of the conservative society at the time in which he lived. The woman, at her most basic reading, is treated as an object, elaborating on the sexist values in society at the time. Lorca addresses issues of sexism as well as issues of sexuality within society mainly through the poem’s sexist narrative voice, objectification of the female character and overriding sense of a lack of desire throughout the poem. His achievement to do so will be analysed throughout this commentary with particular attention to Lorca’s use of poetic techniques such as diction, personification and imagery.
Juana, the wife to fisherman Kino, is one of the main characters in The Pearl. Coming from poverty, Juana and her husband live a minimalist life, as her simple clothes show (a battered blue head shawl and skirt, and a green ribbon knotted in her braids). Many themes in the story revolve around her. Although Juana understands her role to be a subservient and passive wife, she is smart, brave, and determined throughout the novella. Symbolizing the power and strength of women, Juana gradually becomes dominant over her husband. Juana’s second role in The Pearl is to be the protective mother of her son, Coyotito. Last, she is wise and logical in troubling times and acts as the voice of reason. Juana’s words and actions emphasize her various roles in The Pearl.