Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (12 November 1648 – 17 April 1695)

Today is the birthday of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a founder of Mexican literature.  Although Sor (Sister) Juana was born and lived in Mexico during the Spanish empire, there is a distinct “Mexican” style to her writings.  She even learned Nahuatl, and there is writing in that language attributed to her.  She was certainly the first important Castilian poet of the land that would become the nation of Mexico, and her written discourses with scholars of many disciplines make it clear that she was one of the great intellectual minds of her time.  Her admirers called her the “Décima Musa” (the Tenth Muse).  Today, she is perhaps best known for her defense of women’s right to education.  Many of her modern admirers have a very hard time accepting the fact that after ecclesiastical authorities made it clear to her that they believed her intellectual activities were not proper for a nun, she “repented” and gave up her studies and her writing.  Instead of seeing this decision as an act of humility and love, many modern scholars have created all kinds of “pathological” explanations.  It’s important to remember that she never “recanted” her earlier work, but simply agreed that her role should be devotional and charitable.  Her work, along with that of her friend Carlos Sigüenza y Góngora, helped lay the foundation for a vibrant intellectual and literary life in Mexico.

     "Si Aristóteles hubiera guisado, mucho más hubiera escrito."

                                                 --Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz