🛶Latin American Literature – Before 1900 Unit 5 – Sor Juana: Baroque Latin American Poet

Who Was Sor Juana?

• Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648-1695) was a Mexican writer, philosopher, composer, and Hieronymite nun
• Born in San Miguel Nepantla, Mexico as the illegitimate child of a Spanish captain and a Creole woman
• Recognized as a prodigy from a young age, learning to read and write Latin by age three
• Entered the Hieronymite order in 1669, taking the name Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
• Became one of the most important literary figures of the Spanish Golden Age and the most prominent writer of the colonial period in Latin America
• Wrote poetry, plays, and prose works that explored themes of love, feminism, and religion
• Challenged societal norms and expectations for women, advocating for women's right to education and intellectual pursuits
• Faced criticism and censorship from church authorities for her unconventional ideas and outspokenness

Historical and Cultural Context

• Sor Juana lived during the Baroque period (late 16th to early 18th centuries) in New Spain (colonial Mexico)
• The Baroque era was characterized by a focus on grandeur, drama, and ornamentation in art, music, and literature
• New Spain was a highly stratified society with a rigid class system based on race and birthplace
  • Peninsulares: Spaniards born in Spain, held the highest social and political positions
  • Criollos: people of Spanish descent born in the Americas, often wealthy landowners and merchants
  • Mestizos: people of mixed Spanish and indigenous ancestry
  • Indigenous peoples and enslaved Africans occupied the lowest rungs of the social hierarchy
• The Catholic Church held significant power and influence in colonial society
  • The Inquisition enforced religious orthodoxy and censorship
  • Monastic life offered one of the few avenues for women to pursue education and intellectual activities
• Sor Juana's life and work were shaped by the complex interplay of gender, race, and class in colonial Mexico

Sor Juana's Literary Style

• Sor Juana's writing is characterized by its wit, erudition, and masterful use of Baroque literary devices
• She employed a variety of poetic forms, including sonnets, romances, and villancicos (Christmas carols)
• Her poetry often featured elaborate metaphors, paradoxes, and wordplay
  • In "First Dream," she uses the metaphor of a pyramid to represent the ascent of the soul towards knowledge
• Drew upon classical mythology, biblical allusions, and scientific knowledge in her writing
• Sor Juana's prose works, such as "Reply to Sor Filotea," showcase her rhetorical skill and logical argumentation
• Her plays, like "The Divine Narcissus," blend religious themes with allegorical and mythological elements
• Sor Juana's writing style reflects the Baroque aesthetic of complexity, ornamentation, and intellectual virtuosity

Major Works and Themes

• "First Dream" (1692): a long philosophical and allegorical poem that explores the pursuit of knowledge and the limitations of human understanding
  • The poem follows the soul's journey through the cosmos and the natural world in search of divine truth
  • Draws upon neo-Platonic and Hermetic ideas about the nature of the universe and the human mind
• "Reply to Sor Filotea" (1691): a autobiographical letter in which Sor Juana defends her right to study and write as a woman
  • Responds to criticism from the Bishop of Puebla, who had published one of her private letters without her consent under the pseudonym "Sor Filotea"
  • Argues for the compatibility of faith and reason, and the importance of education for women
• "The Divine Narcissus" (1689): an auto sacramental play that uses the myth of Narcissus as an allegory for the relationship between Christ and the human soul
• "Loa to The Divine Narcissus": a short dramatic prologue that introduces the themes of the play and praises the Eucharist
• Other notable works include her love poetry, satirical poems criticizing male hypocrisy, and villancicos celebrating religious festivals

Feminist and Religious Perspectives

• Sor Juana is often considered a proto-feminist figure for her defense of women's intellectual capacities and her critique of gender inequality
  • In "Reply to Sor Filotea," she argues that women have a natural aptitude for learning and that denying them education is a form of oppression
  • Her poetry subverts traditional gender roles and asserts women's agency in matters of love and desire
• At the same time, Sor Juana was a devout Catholic nun who saw her pursuit of knowledge as a way to better understand and serve God
  • Her religious poetry expresses a deep faith and devotion to Christ and the Virgin Mary
  • She believed that reason and faith were complementary paths to truth, and that studying secular subjects could enhance one's understanding of theology
• Sor Juana navigated the tensions between her feminist convictions and her religious vocation, carving out a space for women's intellectual autonomy within the constraints of the Catholic Church

Impact on Latin American Literature

• Sor Juana is considered one of the most important writers of the Spanish Golden Age and a foundational figure in Latin American literature
• Her work helped to establish a distinctly American literary tradition, drawing upon both European and indigenous influences
  • Her villancicos incorporate elements of Nahuatl poetry and Aztec mythology
  • Her play "The Second Celestina" is an adaptation of a Spanish Renaissance work set in colonial Mexico
• Sor Juana's defense of women's right to education and intellectual pursuits inspired later generations of Latin American women writers
  • 19th-century Cuban poet Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda wrote a play about Sor Juana's life
  • 20th-century Mexican writer Octavio Paz wrote a book-length study of Sor Juana, "Sor Juana, or the Traps of Faith"
• Her work has been widely translated and studied around the world, cementing her reputation as one of the most important writers of the Hispanic Baroque

Controversies and Challenges

• Sor Juana faced significant opposition and censorship from church authorities throughout her life
  • Her defense of women's education and her critique of male hypocrisy in the clergy made her a target of criticism and suspicion
  • In 1690, the Archbishop of Mexico ordered her to focus on religious rather than secular studies, and to stop writing for publication
• In 1694, under pressure from her superiors, Sor Juana signed a statement renouncing her intellectual pursuits and donating her library to the church
  • Some scholars have interpreted this as a forced confession, while others see it as a strategic move to protect herself from further persecution
• Sor Juana's sudden death in 1695, at the age of 46, has been the subject of much speculation
  • Some have suggested that she may have been poisoned or died of a broken heart after being forced to give up her writing
• Despite these challenges, Sor Juana's legacy as a brilliant and courageous writer has endured, inspiring new generations of scholars and activists

Legacy and Modern Interpretations

• Sor Juana's life and work have been the subject of numerous artistic and scholarly interpretations in the centuries since her death
• In the 20th century, feminist scholars began to rediscover and reinterpret Sor Juana's writing through the lens of gender studies
  • American poet Diane Ackerman wrote a verse drama about Sor Juana's life, "Reverse Thunder," in 1988
  • Mexican playwright Jesusa Rodríguez has created several works inspired by Sor Juana, including a one-woman show, "Sor Juana in Prison"
• Sor Juana has become an icon of Mexican national identity and a symbol of feminist resistance
  • Her image appears on the 200 peso bill and her name adorns schools, streets, and public buildings throughout Mexico
• In 1979, the Mexican government established the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize, awarded annually to distinguished women writers in Latin America and the Caribbean
• Sor Juana's legacy continues to inspire new scholarship, artistic interpretations, and social movements, cementing her place as one of the most important and influential figures in Latin American literary history