SOR JUANA INÉS DE LA CRUZ: BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS - LITERATURE - 2025

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a self-taught scholar, philosopher, student of the school of thought, composer and poet of the Baroque school. In addition, she was a nun of the order of San Jerónimo de Nueva España, who was commonly known under the nickname "Fénix de América" ​​or simply "Fénix Mexicana."

She was one of the most prominent writers and poets of the American colonial period. It was fluent in Latin and Nahuatl, the language spoken by the Aztec civilization. From an early age she was recognized as a great philosopher and is considered one of the most influential people in Mexican society during her life.

By Anonymous (http://www.inehrm.gob.mx), via Wikimedia Commons

In addition, Sor Juana is one of the first people who supported the rights of women, not only in America, but in the world society of the time. She is considered the first feminist author whose texts were published in the New World.

Biography

Early years

Juana Inés de Asbaje y Ramírez de Santillana was born on November 12, 1651 in San Miguel Nepantla, Mexico (Colonia de Nueva España). Her parents, the Spanish captain Pedro Manuel de Asbaje and the Creole woman Isabel Ramírez, were not married. Her father was not involved in her life, nor in her upbringing.

She was raised on the farm of her maternal grandfather, and was baptized as "daughter of the Church." She liked to sneak into the chapel of the hacienda where she lived to read the various books her grandfather had there.

Reading was a forbidden act for women at the time, so she practically had to educate herself. At three years of age, she already knew how to speak and write in Latin. At the age of eight, she was already capable of composing poems.

At thirteen years of age, he was teaching Latin to other children and had already learned the Aztec language of Nahuatl; using this language he was also able to compose several short poems.

Viceroy Antonio Sebastián de Toledo realized the intelligence of the girl. He called her to be a part of his court as a maid of honor.

Religious life

Juana Inés always showed great disinterest in married life. She feared that this would limit her studies, so she decided to become a nun in 1667. Although she spent two years with the Discalced Carmelite order, she moved to the Santa Paula Convent of the Order of San Jerónimo in Mexico City.

In the Convent of Santa Paula she pronounced her religious vows and remained cloistered in this convent for the rest of her life.

Life in the convent meant for Sor Juana a stable home, with a fixed apartment to live in. In addition, it gave her much more time to study and write. She taught many of the girls in the convent music and tragedy.

In her religious seclusion, Sor Juana managed to have one of the largest collections of books in all of America. She also had in her possession various musical and scientific instruments.

Beyond his confinement in the convent, he did not lose contact with the high leaders of New Spain that he met during his time with the viceroy. In fact, her relations with the Spanish rulers allowed Sor Juana to maintain a very open state of freedom for the time.

Poetry

The viceroys of New Spain used to visit her frequently in the convent. In fact, they were responsible for publishing her works in Europe. In the early 1680s, she became the official poet of the Spanish court.

Her influence in the outside world was very wide, although she was confined within the convent. She wrote she had commissioned and for festivals that widely influenced the culture of New Spain at the time.

Sor Juana's success in possessing is attributed to her great mastery of the different themes and lyrical styles that developed during the Spanish Golden Age. This mastery is due to her self-taught understanding capacity that she demonstrated from a very young age.

He easily used almost all the poetic models available at the time, such as the sonnets and ballad romances that were so popular in colonial times.

Another important aspect of Sor Juana's poetry were the themes it dealt with. The lyrics of her poetry had religious, moral and even satirical principles. This was very unusual for a nun of the time; She never limited her writing of romantic letters even though she was devoted to religious life in her convent.

Criticisms of the Bishop of Puebla

His poetic and literary works were harshly criticized by the Bishop of Puebla, Manuel Fernández de Santa Cruz. The bishop wrote a text criticizing his secular activities and asked the nun to focus more on the development of his religious work.

Curiously, the bishop did not criticize the content of his works. The text was published in 1890 to criticize Sor Juana's lack of ecclesiastical activity, but the bishop himself acknowledged that the woman's works were valid and accurate.

The defense that Sor Juana wrote in response to the bishop was one of the most remarkable demonstrations of the defense of women's rights in colonial America.

Sor Juana told the bishop, through a letter, that women should have the ability to teach other women with full freedom. In this way, the risk of an elderly man developing in the same environment as little girls is eliminated. This protects the girls, and sticks to the writings of Saint Peter.

Abandonment of writing

The bishop's criticism was followed by further reprimands from Spanish officials. Her modernist vision did not fit the times, and many of the people around her disagreed with her ideas: particularly the senior male officials of colonial New Spain and Mexico.

In 1963, she stopped writing publicly to avoid any kind of punishment that could befall the nun. Sor Juana hoped that the government would impose some kind of censorship on her, so she decided to put literature aside a bit.

However, no evidence was ever found that the nun stopped writing permanently. It is thought that she agreed to serve a penance imposed on her, but the letter that validates this theory does not appear to have been written by her.

A few years before his death, he sold all of his books and scientific possessions. Some historians, however, believe that these may have been confiscated by the Archbishop of Mexico.

Some of his works were maintained over time, thanks to the help of the Viceroy of New Spain, who kept them even after his death.

Last years

After renouncing the deed and selling all his belongings, he returned to his old confessional and renewed his religious vows, as was the norm of the Catholic Church. There he signed several prison documents; she dedicated herself to the normal life of a nun of the time.

In 1695, a plague attacked an area of ​​Mexico. Many of the nuns fell ill, so Sor Juana dedicated herself to helping them in their recovery.

During the time she provided assistance to the rest of the sisters in the convent, she contracted the disease. Sor Juana died on April 17, 1695 due to this disease.

Legacy

Many of his ideas were subject to colonial censorship; the true recognition of Sor Juana came many years later. In fact, it was not until the worldwide emergence of campaigns for women's rights that her writings and ideals resurfaced, during the 20th century.

She is recognized as the most brilliant author of the American colonial era and the writings of her authorship that remain to this day are still read today.

The convent where he lived became an educational center. Sor Juana is considered today as a national icon of the United Mexican States. Her image is used on the 200 peso Mexican bill.

Plays

Influence

Sor Juana's poetic authorship was influenced by several renowned authors of the time. She combined the most important aspects of each of the authors' poetic styles to create her own poetry.

For example, it is said that the puns used in his poems were inspired by the literary ability of Francisco de Quevedo. His inventive capacity is due in large part to the influences of Lope de Vega.

The style of the Spanish Baroque period is reflected in all his works. However, beyond the baroque nature of her poetry, none of Sor Juana's works lacks the logic that characterizes them.

Characteristics of his works

Sor Juana used the poems as a literary tool to defend the rights of women throughout her life. This is emphasized in many of her works, such as "Foolish Men", in which she accuses the men of the time of irrational behavior in regard to their treatment of women.

Many of her poems also served to express emotions that the nun felt personally. This caused that several of her works (including some of the most important, such as "The Dream") were written in the first person.

However, not all were of a biographical nature properly speaking. Some of the poems that he wrote in the first person, throughout the second half of the 16th century, served as a way of expressing the disappointment that love creates, as a consequence of other secondary feelings that it generates.

Dramatic

Love is more maze

This work is really a poem turned into a play, which was released in 1689. He wrote it together with Juan de Guevara. It is a comedy based on Greek mythology; particularly in the story of the hero Theseus.

Theseus was a warrior who faced the Minotaur of the Labyrinth, according to Greek history. The reason why Sor Juana decided to tell a poetic story based on Theseus is because she saw the Greek hero as the best representation of a baroque hero.

In this story - considered a comedy - Theseus is not proud of his feat of having killed the Minotaur, but rather uses experience as a teaching to be more humble.

Pawns of a house

This comedy is considered one of the most important works written during the Spanish Baroque period. It tells the story of two couples unable to meet despite being in love.

Furthermore, it is one of the works that best expresses the character of women's rights for the time. The protagonist of the story is a determined woman, around whom all the events that occur in the narrative revolve.

It is believed that the main character in the story is actually Sor Juana. That is, the nun used this literary work as a way of expressing her frustrations through a comedy.

The story is so well told and uses literary elements so effectively, that it is considered one of the best works written during the colonial period. Pawns of a house is the most outstanding work of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.

The second Celestina

Sacramental cars

The divine Narcissus

Joseph's scepter

The martyr of the sacrament

Lyric

The dream

El Sueño is the longest poem written by Sor Juana: it reaches almost 1000 verses. It is about the idea that, when sleeping, the soul leaves the body. It is characterized by presenting a light and simple subject in an extremely complex way, while philosophizing about the intellect of human beings.

It is considered one of his works that is most deeply related to philosophy. It is told, like many of his works, from his own perspective (first person).

The epic journey of the soul in the world of dreams culminates in a battle between the armies of day and night, before the soul returns to the body and the woman awakens.

Others

Allegorical neptune

Athenagore letter

Reply to Sr. Filotea de la Cruz

Protest of faith

Loas

Christmas carols

Biographical documents

References

1. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz - Mexican Poet and Scholar, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1998. Taken from britannica.com
2. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Website of Poets, (nd). Taken from poets.org
3. El Sueño, Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library, (nd). Taken from cervantesvirtual.com
4. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Biography, Biography Website, 2016. Taken from biography.com
5. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Wikipedia in English, 2018. Taken from Wikipedia.org