Personal Response Paper on Sor Juana’s Loa to the Divine Narcissus. For literature to be considered in the “Great Works” category, it must challenge the readers’ traditional way of thinking, encourage rereading and multiple interpretations, and inspire other creations about the work itself. It should also be historically significant yet expand beyond its time, exploring enduring themes of cultures, societies, morality, politics, and human nature that are still relevant in any time period. Based on these characteristics, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s Loa to the Divine Narcissus, a prologue that attempts to navigate the complexities of cultural assimilation and resistance, was rightfully included in this “Great Works” course. It made a great introduction …show more content…
She has a background related to both Spain and Mexico. She was very intelligent and dedicated to the Catholic religion, expanding her knowledge and writing literature, so much so that she became a nun. She disagreed with much in her time, particularly regarding patriarchal religious ideologies and practices, which reflected in her work. After learning more about Sor Juana, I saw themes of female empowerment, culture, and religion, and her identities clash. However, upon first encountering Sor Juana's work, I found myself confused by the portrayal of the Aztec-Spanish encounter. Unlike conventional narratives, which often depict indigenous peoples as either complete savages or victims, Loa to the Divine Narcissus presents a more nuanced perspective. While Sor Juana attempts to navigate the complexities of cultural assimilation, her portrayal may still be critiqued for oversimplifying the process. She emphasizes Catholicism while criticizing the conquistador's approach to forced conversion through violence. Instead, she prefers a gentler approach, focusing on the similarities between the two …show more content…
And long live her king!” (Juana 124). Music never coming back represents the native culture that was lost through diseases, marriage, and forced assimilation brought by Spanish conquistadors. Religion is a representation of Sor Juana as a person and her thoughts. Religion is the voice of reason that prevents her husband Zeal, characterized as a brute, from killing the strong-willed natives, especially the Aztec noblewoman, America, and her husband Occident, so she could have the chance to convert them. She has a discussion with the natives to ultimately create an understanding of “who the true God of Seeds really is,” as America, Occident, and Zeal all sing (Juana 140), and make them realize they believe in the same Catholic god. Here, Religion demonstrates the gentle approach that Sor Juana advocates for and represents a powerful woman. In addition to America, who took a strong stance against her at first, which would be considered unlady-like at that time. To conclude, through its exploration of gender, religion, and cultural identity, the Loa to the Divine Narcissus invites readers to critically engage with the complexities of colonial history and reflect on their personal
Catholicism glorifies and portrays mothers as the main foundation of the family through the example of the passive and unconditional loving Mary, the mother of Jesus Crist. This idea of mothers as unconditional lover beings has been passed on and reproduced in the Chicana/o community. Gil Cuadros and Reyna Grande through their autobiographical work testify against this predominate idea of mothers being always caring and loving persons. Even though most mothers fall into the norm of a normal mother, normality is subjective; therefore Cuadros and Grande’s work represent the complexities of reality. Grande’s The Distance Between Us and Cuadro’s City of God are autobiographical narratives that incorporate reality as a form of testimonial of existence,
Doña Guadalupe is a woman of great strength and power, power and strength which she draws from her devout faith and her deep and loving compassion for her family, and power and strength which is passed down to her children. “‘Well, then, come in,’ she said, deciding that she could be handle this innocent-girl-stealing coyote inside. On going into the long tent, Salvador felt like he’d entered the web of a spider, the old woman was eyeing him so deliberately” (360). Doña Guadalupe is a very protective woman, which is extremely speculative when it comes to her children, this is especially true when it comes to boys, because she has not gone this far only for all of her hard work to be ruined by a no good boy. This shows how protective she is, she loves her family, and especially her kids so much that they themselves must pass her test before being able to pass on to her children. “The newborns were moving, squirming, reaching out for life. It was truly a sign from God” (58). Doña Guadalupe is also a very devout and faithful person. She sees God in everything and in everyone and by that fact, what she sees and who she sees is true, and she tries to be a model of clairvoyance for the family. “Doña Guadalupe put the baby’s little feet in a bowel of warm water, and the child clinging to his mother. He never cried, listening to her heartbeat, the same music that he’d heard from inside the womb” (57). Finally, Doña Guadalupe is very passionate which allows for a great model upon which her children follow. This further shows how she is clearly th...
In 1949, Dana Gioia reflected on the significance of Gabriel García Márquez’s narrative style when he accurately quoted, “[it] describes the matter-of-fact combination of the fantastic and everyday in Latin American literature” (Gioia). Today, García Márquez’s work is synonymous with magical realism. In “Un Señor Muy Viejo con Alas Enormes,” the tale begins with be dramatically bleak fairytale introduction:
Inga Clendinnen's Aztecs:An Interpretation is an outstanding book dealing with investigations into how the Mexica peoples may have veiwed the world in which they lived. From the daily life of a commoner to the explosively, awe inspiring lives of the priests and warriors. Clendinnen has used thoughtful insights and a fresh perspective that will have general readers and specialist readers alike engaged in a powerful and elegantly written interpretation that is hard to put down without reflection upon this lost culture.
Palmas, at this time, took the task of retelling a traditional religious tale with his own twist, and that twist allowed him to entertain as well as criticize his own material. Criticizing religious folklore with methods of “costumbrismo” was vital in teaching his Latin American audience to be able to find the humor and irony in what they absorb through literature, and that is especially important with religious text. In a time when social and political reform went hand in hand with Latin American writing, Palmas did not just want to entertain with this humorous and enthralling piece, he wanted his audience to learn to be able to challenge religion in literature, and finally and most importantly, within the government in order to form a more liberal, secular
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...
Bowden’s idea of why this happened focused mainly on the old misunderstood traditions of the tribes living in Mexico. He shows how the friars, churches and icons took the blunt of the revolts force. Bowden points out the religious differences and similarities be...
... god. Religious meeting were held in secrecy in the homes of members of the church, mainly female members of the church. Amalia risked her freedom by holding a meeting in her home. (p232) Both the Ladinos and the Indians believed that they were being punished by their gods for the sufferings they experienced. The Mayans believed that they were being punished by their gods for the suffering their people were experiencing at the hands of the Europeans. “They came, who were destined to come; haughty and hard of manner and strong of voice, such were the instruments of our chiding”. (Castellanos, year, p 56) The religious rites and customs practised by the indigenous people were constructed by Europeans as “lies and deceptions which the devil had invented” (Tignor et al 2002, p97) They were to worship only the Christian God instead of bowing to their many idols.
The perspective of another society is always subjective, especially when two completely different cultures interact for the first time. In Bernal Diaz del Castillo’s The History of the Conquest of New Spain, the first hand account illustrates a barbaric and pagan society where sacrifices are pervasive in everyday life. However, David Carrasco’s essays titled “The Exaggeration of Human Sacrifice” and “Human Sacrifice / Debt Payments from the Aztec Point of View” shed a significant amount of insight into the religious roles that human sacrifice played in Aztec society rather than the cruel and barbaric connotations which Díaz heavily implied. Based on the readings of Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Carrasco’s essays offered an outside perspective
Delgadillo, Theresa. "Forms of Chicana Feminist Resistance: Hybrid Spirituality in Ana Castillo's So Far From God."Modern Fiction Studies. 44.4 (1998): 888-914. Delgadillo, Theresa. "Forms of Chicana Feminist Resistance: Hybrid Spirituality in Ana Castillo's So Far From God."Modern Fiction Studies. 44.4 (1998): 888-914. .
As my father and I finally fit the statue of the little Virgin Mary in the back of the car, it was time to get on the road. I could already taste the guavas from my great grandfather’s ranch. Feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin. The smell of my aunt’s cooking. Hearing the excitement of my great grandmother’s voice. I wanted to be there already, be in the beautiful country of Mexico. My thoughts wandered as we left my house. How much welcome, love, and the sadness of leaving was going to happen. It was too soon to find out.
The contrast between the Mexican world versus the Anglo world has led Anzaldua to a new form of self and consciousness in which she calls the “New Mestiza” (one that recognizes and understands her duality of race). Anzaldua lives in a constant place of duality where she is on the opposite end of a border that is home to those that are considered “the queer, the troublesome, the mongrel and the mulato” (25). It is the inevitable and grueling clash of two very distinct cultures that produces the fear of the “unknown”; ultimately resulting in alienation and social hierarchy. Anzaldua, as an undocumented woman, is at the bottom of the hierarchy. Not only is she a woman that is openly queer, she is also carrying the burden of being “undocumented”. Women of the borderlands are forced to carry two degrading labels: their gender that makes them seem nothing more than a body and their “legal” status in this world. Many of these women only have two options due to their lack of English speaking abilities: either leave their homeland – or submit themselves to the constant objectification and oppression. According to Anzaldua, Mestizo culture was created by men because many of its traditions encourage women to become “subservient to males” (39). Although Coatlicue is a powerful Aztec figure, in a male-dominated society, she was still seen
Family is one of the most important institutions in society. Family influences different aspects of a person’s life, such as their religion, values, morals and behavior. Unfortunately, problems may arise when an individual’s belief system or behavior does not coincide with that of family standards. Consequently, individuals may be forced to repress their emotions or avoid acting in ways that that are not acceptable to the family. In the novel The Rain God, written by Arturo Islas, we are presented with a story about a matriarchal family that deals with various conflicts. One major internal conflict is repression. Throughout the novel the characters act in strange ways and many of the family members have internal “monsters” that represent the past that they are repressing. In his article, “The Historical Imagination in Arturo Islas’s The Rain God and Migrant Souls”, Antonio C. Marquez’s implicitly asserts a true idea that The Rain God is a story about repression. Marquez’s idea can be supported from an analysis of secondary sources and a reading of the primary text.
During the era of maritime exploration and the discovery of the Americas, assumptions were made of the land likening it to not only a paradise, but one that was overrun with cannibalistic natives. These suppositions led to a desire to explore the lands and conquer the savages that posed a threat to man and civilization itself. The consequences of this mass colonization and dehumanization of the natives paved the way for literary pieces that pose as critiques of the era when viewed through a post-colonial lens. When looked at through a post-colonial perspective, a few common themes prevail amongst compared texts. Focusing on the theme of the journey, what it means, and what is at stake, Garcilaso de la Vega’s “The Story of Pedro Serrano” and Juan José Saer’s The Witness both touch on all these themes with great severity, dissecting the purpose of the journey and what it means to be a civilized man.