Svět Literatury (Dec 2016)
La monja que conquistó Europa. Sor Juana Inés en la cruz de la crítica // The nun who conquered Europe: Sor Juana Inés on the cross of criticism
Abstract
The article situates the phenomenon of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1651–1695) within the myth of the “return of the caravels,” invented from the Spanish American side as a proof of parity with the former “Mother Country,” achieved apparently towards the end of the 19th century. However, “caravels” were “returning” much earlier. Based on the author’s book La mujer que quiso ser amada por Dios (The Woman who Wanted to be Loved by God, 2016) and on recent archival discoveries, the study then focuses on the Mexican nun, the history of her publications in Spain during her lifetime, and the consequences of the historical entanglements of her supporters for her literary heritage; finally, it takes to task the surprising generalized shortcomings of the sorjuanista criticism, among others, reading her work out of its internal (“genetic”) and external contexts, and not having asked some most elemental questions about her works in both the modern and the ancient editions.
