Juana Inés de Asbaje y Ramírez de Santillana was born in San Miguel Nepantla, in what was known at the time as “New Spain,” nowadays, Mexico. She was the illegitimate child of a Spanish father and a Creole mother and grew up in her maternal grandfather’s estate in Amecameca. From an early age, Juana loved to read. She hid in the chapel, reading her grandfather’s books, some forbidden to girls. At the age of three, she already knew to read and write in Latin. At eight, she composed her first poem, and as a teenager, she mastered Greek logic.
In 1664, 16 years old, Juana was sent to Mexico City to serve as a lady-in-waiting at the colonial Viceroy’s court (the Spanish monarch representative). There, she came under the tutelage of the Vicereine’s wife and continued her self-education, impressing the courtiers with her wisdom. At 17, the Viceroy invited 40 scholars to test her knowledge about philosophy, science, and literature. Afterward, her name became known throughout New Spain.
She wanted to study at the university but got denied because of her gender. In 1677, at the age of 19, she moved to a convent. Convent life allowed Sor Juana to study and write as much she wanted. She also taught music and became the convent’s accountant and archivist. The Viceroy continued to support her and published her writings in Spain.
Sor Juana’s writings were diverse and included sonnets and ballads, scholar and philosophical essays, and even plays and music, relying on both biblical and secular sources. Her plays were about brave and clever women, and she emphasized their sense and knowledge instead of the passionate portray that was common at the time. She accused men of their illogical behavior in criticizing women. Her poems often had autobiographical elements, reflecting her experiences as a woman in a quest for knowledge. By her 30s, Sor Juana became the unofficial poet of the court, writing plays and poetry that were commissioned for religious services and state festivals.
With her rising fame came the church’s disapproval, and when the current Viceroy returned to Spain, her privileges were renowned. In 1690, the bishop of Puebla published under a pseudonym of a nun a critique Sor Juana wrote of a 40-year-old sermon by a Portuguese Jesuit preacher, alongside a letter he wrote discussing his notions that as a woman, Sor Juana should devote herself to prayer and give up writing and secular studies. Sor Juana published a response letter, which defended women’s right to education, listing biblical and contemporary educated women and using quotes of St. Paul and St. Jerome that supported her argument. She also claimed that women need to serve in positions of authority and to educate other women to avoid dangerous situations and intimate settings with male teachers.
Her opinions got rejected by the church, who constantly criticized and pressured her to stop writing. By 1693, at the age of 45, Sor Juana seemingly ceased writing. She sold her books, an extensive library of more than 4,000 publications. Two years later, she passed away after tending her fellow sisters who contracted the plague. She was 47 years old.
In the 20th century, with the rising of modern feminism, Sor Juana once again became known for her writings and ideas. Today, she is considered a national icon of Mexican identity and credited as the last writer of the Hispanic Baroque and the first feminist of the New World.
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