Explore the Life and Works of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (born Juana Ramírez de Asbaje) was a seventeenth-century scholar, dramatist, nun, and poet of the New Spanish Baroque. Sor Juana was born in the mid-1600s when Mexico was a Spanish-owned territory known as New Spain. She wrote countless plays, love poems, villancicos (a poetic and musical form), and treatises on themes exploring religion, feminism, music, and philosophy throughout her life. Her literary works were a part of the Spanish Golden Age, a period of heightened literary and artistic creation in Spain.

She became known as “the Tenth Muse” and “the Phoenix of Mexico” because she was unafraid to speak her mind. Historical accounts left out Sor Juana’s works for hundreds of years after her death. Mexican poet and diplomat Octavio Paz would rectify this omission by highlighting Sor Juana as an integral figure in the arts in his book about her life, bringing her literary contributions to the forefront of the modern age.

In 1651, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was born to a Spanish father and Creole mother near Mexico City. Here is a brief overview of her life:

• Childhood and teen years: Sor Juana had a passion for knowledge as a child, where she spent a lot of time reading her grandfather’s books. By the age of 13, she had written poems, studied Greek logic, learned Nahuatl, an Aztec language, and tutored other children in Latin. News of Sor Juana’s impressive knowledge spread, and the Marquis de Mancera invited her to be a lady-in-waiting at the viceregal court, where 40 scholars tested her knowledge.
• Life at the convent: Sor Juana wanted to continue her studies at a university level; however, as a woman, this was not an option at the time. Instead, she joined a convent and became a Hieronymite nun to continue studying and writing. At the Convent of the Order of St. Jerome, Sor Juana studied literature, philosophy, and science and met with theologians and scholars from the court and university.
• Criticism over secular studies: As a nun, Sor Juana received criticism for her secular studies. In 1690, the bishop of Puebla Manuel Fernández de Santa Cruz, who disapproved of Sor Juana’s intellectual pursuits, published a letter Sor Juana had written critiquing a Jesuit sermon from years prior without her permission. The bishop published the letter under the pseudonym “Sor Filotea de la Cruz,” which translates to “Sister Filotea of the Cross.” In response, Sor Juana published “Respuesta a Sor Filotea,” which scholars cite as a feminist manifesto.
• Pressure from the church: In 1694, pressure from the Catholic church would push Juana Inés de la Cruz to end her studies for the rest of her life. A year later, she died from the plague.
• Her enduring legacy: Today, Sor Juana’s life is an integral part of Mexican heritage. The Banco de Mexico has featured her image on the 200 peso bill since 1992. Officials in San Miguel Nepantla, Tepetlixpa—her place of birth—renamed the town Nepantla de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz to honor her legacy. The University of the Cloister of Sor Juana—located in the former convent where she lived for 25 years—honored her many scholarly achievements with a symbolic altar and a tag at the end of the school’s name.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was one of the first widely known feminists of Latin America, as she was an advocate for women’s rights before the age of feminism. Her response letter to the bishop of Puebla, “Respuesta a Sor Filotea de la Cruz,” is now a scholarly work for early feminism. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz defended women’s rights, arguing for women’s education and publication in her letter. Scholars and historians cite Sor Juana as the first published feminist of the New World.

She also used her plays as a platform for highlighting gender disparities. Through humor and prose, she questioned gender conventions and created women characters who were knowledgeable and strong.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s writing was all-encompassingーshe wrote comedies, sonnets, romances, and scholarly works. Her most renowned works incorporated themes of the Spanish Golden Age, making her one of the most significant writers of the Hispanic Baroque literary movement.

1. 1. “Primero Sueño” (First dream): Published in 1692, “Primero Sueño” is one of Sor Juana’s most famous poems. As a silva, “Primero sueño” follows a poetic form that combines eleven- and seven-syllable lines. Her verses explore the human desire to learn, an endeavor that was central to her own life.
2. 2. “Hombres Necios” (Foolish men): “Hombres necios” is a poem that highlights the hypocrisy of society’s different standards for men and women.
3. 3. “La Respuesta a Sor Filotea de la Cruz”(The Reply to Sister Filotea of the Cross): Historians and scholars regard Sor Juana’s response letter to the bishop of Puebla as one of the first feminist manifestos. In her letter, she lists women of her time who also studied and became valuable scholars.
4. 4. “Carta Atenagórica” (Athenogoric letter): “Carta Atenagórica” was Sor Juana’s critique of a sermon by António Vieira, a Portuguese priest. Scholars today consider the letter to be a dispute of the strict religious hierarchy of the time. The bishop of Pueblo used the letter to discredit and criticize Sor Juana’s secular studies.
5. 5. “El Divino Narciso” (The Divine Narcissus): Published in 1689, “El Divino Narciso” is a play that recounts the Spanish invasion of the Aztecs. Like Sor Juana’s other works, the play portrays the strength of women and resistance to the ingrained patriarchy while underscoring themes of Latin American colonialism.
6. 6. “Los Empeños de una Casa” (The pawns of a house): “Los empeños de una casa” is a play that follows the love story of two couples. Historians have labeled it as one of the most significant works of the Spanish Baroque literary movement.
   
7. 7. “Neptuno Alegorico” (Allegorical Neptune): This long prose piece featuring poetic verses celebrated the incoming Viceroy of New Spain, Tomás de la Cerda y Aragón, Marquess of Laguna, and his wife, María Luisa Manrique de Lara y Gonzaga. The piece led to a lasting friendship between Sor Juana and the new viceroyalty. Scholars who praised it during the time acknowledged her comparison between the new Viceroy to the god of Neptune.

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