Meet Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: The Mexican Poet Who Gave Up Her Freedom to Be a Writer
Outside of Mexico, the name Juana Inés de la Cruz may not ring any bells. But Sor Juana is arguably one of Mexico’s most famous writers, and she is a literary ancestor whose commitment to her craft stands as a reminder of what’s possible. A precocious child, born with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, Juana forsake the comforts and freedom of a secular life, so she could dedicate herself to writing and learning. Now, that’s dedication. But was her sacrifice worth it?
If you’d like to listen to the full Sor Juana story, check out our podcast episode all about her life. Available on Apple podcasts and your favorite podcast platform.
Juana Inés Loved Learning
The writer, Sor Juana, with her books!
Juana Inés de la Cruz was born November 12, 1651 (or it might have been 1648) in San Miguel Nepantla. Reports differ about her actual birth year because historical records about women were never that prized. San Miguel Nepantla was a small town outside of Mexico city at the time. Juana’s father was a Spanish man of means, her mother was creole, which meant she was of Spanish heritage, but born in New Spain, which is what Mexico was known as at this time in history.
From a very early age, Juana showed an aptitude and a thirst for knowledge. As an adult, whenever she had to defend her love of scholarly pursuits, she always said God made her that way, and then she would share one particular anecdote. She told people when she was only two years old, she secretly followed her older sister to school and told the teacher her mother wanted her to learn to read and write. The teacher didn’t believe little Juana, but she allowed her to stay and learn just the same. Records show that little Juana was reading by age three.
By the time Juana turned six, her father had abandoned the family. Mind you, her parents were never married, which marked Juana as being illegitimate. But this wasn’t a dealbreaker for future success or creature comforts. Juana’s mother simply took her girls back to her parents hacienda, and later got a new man and had three more kids with him. And all was well. But not for precocious little Juana. She wanted more out of life, even at age six.
Juana Moves to Mexico City
When Juana is still a young child, living with her maternal grandparents, she hears about this amazing thing called a university. She begged her mother to send her there so she could study full time. Her mother informed her daughter that the university was for boys, not little girls. Remember we’re still in the 17th century in colonial Mexico. Young Juana was not deterred and asked her mother to cut off her hair, disguise her as a boy and send her to this magnificent university already. Nor surprisingly, her mother refused. So, Juana had to quench her thirst for knowledge by reading through all of the books in her grandfather’s extensive library.
Juana’s mother knew she couldn’t give Juana the education she craved, so she eventually sent her to live with relatives in Mexico City, where she could have access to more learned people. Overjoyed at the opportunity, Juana studied Latin and one of the Aztec languages as well. She became so proficient at Latin, she began teaching Latin to other students.
Eventually Juana attracted the attention of the Viceroy of New Spain, who was functioned like the Governor of the territory. He had heard about this beautiful, intelligent young woman and was intrigued.. Word had gotten around that teenage Juana was a genius. So, without telling her, he invited her to court, along with some 40 noted scholars to intellectually ambush her to see if she really was as smart as everyone was saying. Keep in mind, young Juana is only 16 years old at this time.
Each scholar each tested her in his own area of expertise. She’d had no warning, no prep time, and yet reports say she crushed it. Answered every question and dazzled everyone with her answers.
The Viceroy was equally impressed and invited Juana to become a member of his court, as a lady-in-waiting, working for his wife, the Vice Reina.
And so Juana has a new job as a lady-in-waiting to the Vice Reina and the two became close friends. Both the Viceroy and his wife support Juana’s interest in learning and her writing. She writers poems and plays and shares them with her patrons. All is well for the next few years.
The Big Decision: Be a Writer or Be a Wife
Sor Juana knew what was expected of a woman in a traditional marriage. So, she chose to marry Jesus instead.
By the time Juana is nearing age 20, everyone, including the Viceroy, is expecting her to get married and become a proper wife. But this is not what Juana wants for her life. She said she had a “total disinclination to marriage” and she wished “to have no fixed occupation which might curtail my freedom to study.” In other words, Juana knew that marriage would mean dedicating herself to a series of never-ending domestic duties, including rearing children, as well as being under the dominion of a husband. And so, Juana decided she’d marry Jesus, and become a nun, so that she would have nothing stopping her from her literary pursuits. Eventually, after a little bit of trial and error with #NunLife, Juana enters the order of San Jeronimo, takes her vows, and remains cloistered in the monastery for the rest of her life.
Sor Juana’s #Lit Literary Life
Let’s be clear, Juana, now known as Sor Juana or Sister Juana, should not have had to lock herself up in a convent in order to pursue her dreams of being a writer, but considering the circumstances, she made the best of it.
Because she was a cloistered nun, Sor Juana couldn’t leave the grounds of the monastery, but she could have guests from the outside world come visit her, so Juana started hosting regular literary salons where the conversations were about books, writing, and poetry. Together they would write and share poems, and not all of them were “holy.” Many of Juana’s poems were about love and desire, and/or about societal affairs. The fact that she was writing about secular themes endeared her to many, but it also made her a target for religious types who thought nuns should stick to being nuns.
In addition to her literary salons, Juana also collected books, musical instruments, and scientific equipment. Her personal library included more than 4,000 books and she was said to have amassed the largest personal library in the New World. In addition to poetry, Juana was also writing plays, essays, texts for religious ceremonies and she taught at the convent school. Her work was widely circulated, and thanks to the influence of the viceroy, it was published in Spain, making Juana an international literary figure. One of the topics Juana was most passionate about, and that showed up in much of her writing, was the right to education for women and girls. She was easily one of Mexico’s first and most famous feminists.
The bottom line is that Juana’s literary output was extensive, diverse and wildly popular. Much of her work is still relevant and relatable today, particularly her social commentary.The collection of her complete works, which doesn’t even include everything she wrote because some of it was destroyed or lost, is four volumes long!
How Sor Juana Fell from Grace
Not surprisingly, the more famous Sor Juana grew, the more she was criticized. Especially by the men of the church. When the viceryoy and his wife left Mexico to return to Spain, her greatest protectors were gone and Sor Juana was left defenseless in many ways. And she was targeted.
In 1690, a bishop from the church published a critique Juana had written criticizing a sermon made by a well-known Jesuit priest. Her critique had been meant to stay private. Once it got out, however, the critics pounced and demanded that she be made to repent and suffer. They said she should focus on her piety instead of her scholarly pursuits.
But Sor Juana went down swinging, defending herself by writing some of her most ardent arguments for women being allowed to study and write, saying women could actually be pious and smart. Sor Juana responded to the bishop in March 1691 with what has been deemed, “the first feminist manifesto.” It was called Respuesta a sor Filotea de la Cruz (“Reply to Sister Filotea of the Cross”). In her arguments she wrote, “One can perfectly well philosophize while cooking supper.” And she argued that her study of “human arts and sciences” helped her to understand sacred theology. And studying would help other women as well.
“She studies, and disputes, and teaches,
and thus she serves her Faith;
for how could God, who gave her reason, want her ignorant?
”
Sor Juana Stops Fighting
Sor Juana’s strong and fervent responses only made church officials madder. More intent on squashing her spirit. They demanded that she stop all secular writing, all reading. They made her sell all of her books and donate the money to the poor. She was forced to repent for all of her so-called sins and renew her vows. In one written confessional, she signed her name in blood.
From my reading, it is unclear if Sor Juana was truly repenting, or if she felt she had no choice, but by 1694, she stopped fighting. Stopped writing. And just went silent. In 1695 a plague came to Mexico City. After caring for her fellow sister-nuns, Juana caught the plague and died on April 17. She was 44 or 46 years old depending on her true birth date.
What Can Today’s Writers Learn from Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz?
Today’s writers, particularly women writers, can learn a lot about how to craft a literary life, from Sor Juana. Here are three literary lessons gleaned from the brave and fascinating life of this literary ancestor.
If writing is your only weapon, use it. Born an illegitimate child in colonial Mexico, a woman, and without financial means, Juana fought the systems that oppressed her with her words. Even as a “powerless” woman, Sor Juana made a huge impact on the Spanish speaking world with her words during her lifetime and her impact continues to grow even 400 years after her death.
Be a voracious reader. It feels like a tired cliche, but writers must read widely to write well.
Prioritize your writing life. Do you need to enter a monastery in order to prioritize your writing life? No. But you might have to sacrifice something; Sunday Brunch with the girls, Netflix after work, Date night with your boo. It doesn’t have to be a permanent sacrifice, just long enough to get the work done.
More Literary Ancestors You Should Know
If you like learning about the extraordinary lives of our BIPoC Literary Ancestors, then you might want to check out these posts and podcast episodes about Chester B. Himes and this one about Jessie Redmon Fauset. Let their success and struggles be the motivation you need to keep writing. Remember, the world needs more BIPoC stories by BIPoC storytellers like you!