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Juana was born in San Miguel Nepantla, Mexico. She was the "illegitimate" daughter of a Creole mother and a Spanish father.
https://poets.org/poet/sor-juana-ines-de-la-cruz
https://cowlatinamerica.voices.wooster.edu/2020/05/05/sor-juana-ines-de-la-cruz-latin-americas-first-feminist/ -
By the time Juana Ines de la Cruz was 3 years old, she was able to read and write. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/sor-juana
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At the age of 6, Juana was already asking her mother to allow her to disguise herself as a man in order to attend university.
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Her mother sent her to live with her maternal aunt when she was 8 years old in Mexico City. -
When she reached the age of 13 she was already studying Greek logic and teaching younger children Latin. Juana learned Nahuatl, an Aztec language, and wrote short poems in this language. -
At the age of 16 Juana was presented to the court of the Viceroy Marquis de Mancera -
Sor Juana began her life as a nun and she temporarily stayed in the order of Discalced Carmelites of St. Joseph for quite some time. -
Sor Juana moved to the more “lenient” Convent of the order of St. Jerome -
Juana expresses her disappointment with the hypocrisy in New Spain regarding the relations between men and women.
https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/juana-ines-de-la-cruz-feminist-poet-of-new-spain -
Sor Juana was under the protection of the viceroy and vicereine of New Spain. They helped her maintain her freedom. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sor-Juana-Ines-de-la-Cruz
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This play was performed in Mexico City. Through this comedic play, she attempted to bring attention to the inequality between men and women.
https://daily.jstor.org/sor-juana-founding-mother-of-mexican-literature/ -
During this time, Marquis and Marquise de la Laguna moved to Spain. https://amazingwomeninhistory.com/sor-juana-ines-de-la-cruz-self-taught-scholar-poet-spain/
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She wrote about her religious drama. This play is a blend of the Aztec and Christian religions. -
A private letter she wrote criticizing a well-known Jesuit sermon was published without her permission. Included with her letter was another letter from Sor Filotea criticizing Juana.
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Sor Juana responded to this criticism from Sor Filotea through self-defense which came in the form of writing. -
Juana quoted a Catholic saint and said, "One can perfectly well philosophize while cooking supper." https://www.biography.com/writer/sor-juana-ines-de-la-cruz
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This is her most important yet difficult poem which is both personal and universal. It talks about her soul's want to gain knowledge in an unsuccessful manner. -
She dedicated time to taking care of her sisters in the convent. Sor Juana sold her books for charity and gave up writing. -
She returned to her previous confessor, renewed her vows, and signed multiple documents.
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The plague reached her convent, and after tending to her sisters, she died from the disease herself.