Sor Juana, las riquezas del Nuevo Mundo y el ingenio indiano. En torno a una polémica en los paratextos de las ediciones prínceps de 1689, 1692 y 1700

Abstract

The theme of criollismo in Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz has been one of the most debated topics in her work. But how did the Spanish intellectuals who published and read her understand this topic? This article reflects on the “ingenio indiano of mother Juana Inés de la Cruz” -so defined by the anonymous author of the prologue of Inundación castálida (1689)- in the paratexts of the three original volumes of her work published in Spain in 1689, 1692 and 1700. As it will be seen, the poetic and intellectual skills of Sor Juana were seen by the Spaniards as a “treasure of the Indies”. What this image suggests is that the figure of Sor Juana was understood in the light of the discourse of cupiditas, which has been traditionally associated with the Spanish conquest and colonization of the New World. However, in Fama y obras póstumas (1700) various texts of Mexican contemporaries of Sor Juana are included, which dialogue controversially with the texts written by Spaniards of the same volume of 1700, but also with the two previous ones of 1689 and 1692. Understanding this dialogue provides light on the appropriation that each group intended to make of the figure of the nun.

Keywords

• Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
• criollismo
• paratexts
• reader’s reception
• New World Gold