Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s 366th Birthday
In 17th century Mexico (then New Spain), access to education and learning was intensely guarded by male clergy who excluded women. But a lone woman chose to challenge this. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a self-taught Mexican scholar who became one of the most prolific authors, poets, philosophers, and playwrights of the Spanish Golden Age. She is considered the first published feminist of the New World, and her face is depicted on the 200 peso Mexican note.
Sor Juana entered the service of the Church at the age of twenty, and for over a decade learned alongside her male counterparts. Her style of writing ranged from the philosophically serious to irreverently comic to borderline profane. But as her influence grew so did her competition.
In 1690, her writings were deemed too worldly and she was advised to focus on religion - namely by the then Bishop of Puebla Manuel Fernández de Santa Cruz - and leave secular matters to men. In response to him, Sor Juana wrote La Respuesta a Sor Filotea de la Cruz (A Response to Sor Filotea de la Cruz), a manifesto defending a woman’s right to education. In it, she famously quoted an Aragonese poet: “one can perfectly well philosophize while cooking supper.”
Today’s we celebrates this icon of feminism and knowledge who persevered no matter the obstacle.
¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Sor Juana!