The Influences of Sor Juana and Julia de Burgos

The Influences of Sor Juana and Julia de Burgos

Most every human being has encountered a time in their life when he or she has felt suppressed. However, not every person has stood up against the people and forces that have kept them oppressed. It takes a truly extraordinary person to stand up for their self and to take a stand for the greater good of others. According to Clare Booth Luce: “courage is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount.” The Mexican writer, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz and the Puerto Rican writer, Julia de Burgos, acknowledged the fact that they were suppressed by the male gender. 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). Juana’s mother, Isabel Ramirez, had an independent nature about herself. Like Juana would later do, Ramirez refused to marry (Trueblood 2-3). At the age of ten, Ramirez noticed that Juana had a large capacity for knowledge, so she sent Juana to study in Mexico City (Trueblood 3). After studying alone Juana desired to further seek a life of independence and freedom from authority.

To avoid ma...

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