Biografia sor juana ines de la cruz free#

Biografia sor juana ines de la cruz free#

In the solitude of her cell, she dedicated her time to study, which she considered as her rest “at all times when she was free from her duties. She left the convent shortly after, probably due to the rigidity of the rules.įinally, she moved to the Convent of Santa Paula of the Hieronymite order, taking vows in February 1669. First, she entered the Convent of the Discalced Carmelites in August 1667 and was accompanied by viceroys. She made that decision because it seemed to be “the least unreasonable and the most decent she could choose”./5 Contrary to marriage, in convent life “she was not forced to abandon her studies, and the buzz of community did not prevent her from enjoying the calm silence of her books”/6. Having expressed her total rejection to marriage, and being influenced by Father Antonio Núñez de Miranda, who was the viceroys’ confessor, Juana decided to practice religion. After confirming the wisdom reflected in her answers, the impressed viceroy described the young woman in this way: “like a royal galleon defending herself against a few rowing boats, that charged at her, Juana Inés responded the questions and arguments, directed at her by each scholar”./4 The young woman was presented to the court, where she lived between the ages of 16 and 20, and where she was respected for her extraordinary intelligence, to such an extent that the viceroy, admired by her erudition, had her knowledge tested by 40 noted men scholars: theologians, philosophers, mathematicians, historians, and poets. She started studying grammar with such dedication that she would cut her hair while learning a specific lesson when it was growing out, and she would cut it again if she still did not master what she resolved to learn, given that, in her opinion, “there was no reason why her head should be dressed with hair if it was so empty on the inside, that embellishment seemed more appealing”./ According to Father Calleja, Sor Juana’s first biographer, at eight years of age, she composed a praise for the feast of the Holy Sacrament.įollowing the death of her grandfather in 1655, she was sent to Mexico City to live with her maternal aunt, María Ramírez, who was married to Juan de Mata, a wealthy man who had certain influence at the court of Viceroy Antonio Sebastián de Toledo, Marquis de Mancera. She resolved to be persevering and disciplined, to such an extent that, when she was still a young girl, she decidedly refrained from eating cheese, given that she happened to hear that it “made people rude”/2, that is, it made people behave in foolish ways. After her mother’s refusal to do so, she found comfort in devouring books from her grandfather’s library.

When she was seven, she learned about the University of Mexico, and asked her mother to send her there to study, even willing to be dressed as a man if necessary. Her curiosity was always behind her incentive to read and study.

In an autobiographical document, the poet says that her love for the arts was born -as she puts it- “since the first light of reason crossed my mind”,/1 and that since she was three years old, following in her sister’s footsteps, she took classes and learned to read. She was creole, probably of Basque origin. Juana Ramírez de Asbaje was born on Novem(or 1648) in San Miguel Nepantla in an estate located at the foot of the volcanoes.