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Birth
Born in San Miguel Nepantla, Tepetlixpa, Mexico
Mexico City, Mexico, She was a 17th-century nun, self-taught scholar, and acclaimed writer of the Latin American colonial period and Hispanic baroque. She was also a strong advocate for women's rights. -
During his adolescence
The intelligence and erudition of Juana Inés de la Cruz became known throughout the country. She began her life as a nun in 1667 so that she could study at will. -
Support
Juana had plenty of time to study and write at the convent, and she amassed a large library. She also obtained the patronage of the viceroy and viceroy of New Spain, who supported her and published her works in Spain. -
Sor Juana began her life as a nun
She moved in 1669 to the Convento de San Gerónimo (St. Jerome) in Mexico City, where she remained cloistered for the rest of her life. -
poems
Sor Juana's enduring importance and literary success are partly attributable to her mastery of the full range of poetic forms and themes of the Spanish Golden Age, and her writings display inventiveness, wit and a wide range of knowledge. Juana employed all of the poetic models of her day, including sonnets and romances, and she drew on wide-ranging secular and nonsecular sources. Unlimited by genre, she also wrote dramatic, comedic and scholarly works especially unusual for a nun. -
Critics
With Sor Juana's growing renown, however, came disapproval from the church: In November 1690, the bishop of Puebla published without her consent Sor Juana's critique of a 40 year old sermon by a Portuguese Jesuit preacher, and admonished Sor Juana to focus on religious studies instead of secular studies. -
defends himself from criticism
Sor Juana responded with stunning self-defense. She defended the right of all women to attain knowledge and famously wrote (echoing a poet and a Catholic saint), "One can perfectly well philosophize while cooking supper," justifying her study of secular topics as necessary to understanding theology. -
important works
Sor Juana's most important plays include brave and clever women, and her famous poem, "Hombres necios" ("Foolish Men"), accuses men of behaving illogically by criticizing women. Her most significant poem, "Primero sueño" ("First Dream"), published in 1692, is at once personal and universal, recounting the soul's quest for knowledge -
Death and Legacy
Sor Juana died in Mexico City, Mexico, on April 17, 1695.
Today, Sor Juana stands as a national icon of Mexican identity, and her image appears on Mexican currency. She came to new prominence in the late 20th century with the rise of feminism and women's writing, officially becoming credited as the first published feminist of the New World.