Sor Juana

Sor Juana is one of my favorite figures in Latin American History. She is one of the few intellectuals of the time, and the only woman. In her letter "La Repuesta" she makes some interesting points:

• Her use of Biblical passages to defend what she saw as an assault on intellectualism by the Catholic Church. She is told that because of her pursuit of knowledge, she will condemn herself to hell. She thinks that this is interesting because "I am the executioner and the martyr".
• One of my favorite quotes by Sor Juana is in this passage: "If Aristotle would have cooked stews, he would have written more". I like this for several reasons: it is a defense of her, as she puts it "feminine art" that women have no other option or choice to practice. Sor Juana was an accomplished alchemist and chemist; most of her knowledge, as she puts it, comes from her experiences in the kitchen.
• Socrates said, "The only thing that I know is that I know nothing". Sor Juana puts a humorous twist on this, implying that in order for someone to be a great fool, he must speak many languages in order to be a fool in them as well!
• One thing that struck me throughout the letter is her humility. She is constantly referring to herself as not being worthy of salvation or as an ignoramus.
  
• "What a strange madness: to exhaust yourself more by removing credit than by adding it". This statement sums up the entire letter which is a defense against persecution by the church: I spend more time trying to be humble and not to upset the hierarchy of things than working on my own works.
• One of my favorite parts of this letter is where she apologizes to her lady, Filotea de la Cruz, for addressing her in the "tú" form, rather than the "usted" form.
  

Sor Juana, in my opinion, is one of the most tragic figures of colonial times. She is obviously remarkable intelligent, evidenced by her use of the classics and the Bible in her defense. She was miles above contemporaries. However, despite all of this, she was marginalized by the Church and her fellow nuns; hence the tragic tale of women in Latin America. How much do you think that society would have been advanced if she were allowed to actually speak her mind and be a pure, humanist intellectual?